Through The Darkness Comes The Light
by jeytonlover
Summary: Derek and Casey have a life most couples only dream of. Derek is at the top of his game and Casey is a fast rising star in her field. But when their charmed life is touched by tragedy they must band together as never before. Dasey. STORY IS COMPLETE!
1. Chapter 1

**All right, here it is. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own LWD, the New York Rangers, CNN, Anderson Cooper or St. Vincent's Hospital. But if I could choose one, it would be LWD!**

* * *

The atmosphere of the locker room had been jovial. The New York Rangers were leading their division at the moment and all signs pointed to a showdown in the finals. Tonight's win just moved to solidify their standing and Derek had personally had a great game.

He had wished Casey could have been there but she was filling in as an anchor on CNN that night. Her career in television journalism had really taken off and she was fast becoming one of the most coveted reporters around.

Most of the guys had left the locker room already but Derek wanted to turn the television on and catch Casey.

"Hey, you staying here all night?" His best friend Rick asked.

"Nah, I just wanted to catch Casey. She's filling in for Anderson Cooper tonight and if I leave now, I'll miss half the show."

"God you have it bad. That's why I like being a bachelor, no commitments and no strings."

"Your problem is you haven't found your Casey yet. When you do, forget about it. You don't stand a chance."

Derek took the remote and flipped the television on just in time to hear, "Once again we are reporting an accident involving one of our own. CNN journalist Casey Venturi was involved in a two car accident on her way to appear on our programming tonight. Little is know about the accident yet, but sources say Mrs. Venturi was transported by helicopter to St. Vincent's Hospital. Casey is the wife of New York Rangers star forward Derek Venturi and the couple is said to be expecting their first child in a little over two months. We will keep you informed of the situation and let you know more details as they arise. Stay with CNN for all the latest news."

Derek stood shell shocked and Rick moved beside him. "Hey buddy, come on. Let's get your stuff out of your locker and I'll drive you over there."

Derek didn't move and Rick nudged him, trying to snap him out of the trance he appeared to be in. He physically had to walk Derek over to his locker. Rick grabbed Derek's keys and wallet and moved to put them in Derek's coat pocket. Reaching in, he felt Derek's phone and pulled it out. Rick looked at the screen and noticed two things, the phone was on silent and he had two new voice messages.

Derek still didn't respond as Rick led him out into the darkness towards the car. There were no words spoken as they headed toward the hospital. Rick couldn't think of a worse case scenario in his wildest dreams. Actually scratch that, because this wasn't a dream, this was a nightmare.

* * *


	2. Chapter 2

**Please read the author's note at the end of the chapter.**

* * *

It had been over ten minutes since they had gotten into the car and headed towards the hospital. Derek still hadn't said a word and Rick was actually starting to worry that maybe he had gone into shock.

Though he already knew the answer to the question, he was about to ask Derek how he was doing when Derek finally spoke, "How did I not know?"

It was so quiet that Rick didn't actually understand him. "What?"

"The accident, how could something like that happen to her and I not know it. I was out there skating, playing a freakin' game that doesn't even matter and she was in trouble and I never knew it. What kind of sorry SOB does that make me?"

"Come on Derek. How in the world were you supposed to know what was happening to Casey?"

Derek didn't bother to answer the question. He only blankly stared out the window just as he had earlier.

"Listen, when I looked at your phone you had two new messages. Maybe you should listen to them; they might have some important information."

Derek didn't say a word but took out his phone. He pushed the code in and he heard the first voice mail.

"Hey Baby, I just watched the first two periods. God is my man a badass. Listen, when you get this call me or at least leave a voice mail. I want you to let me know what your plans are. Do you want me to meet you at the house or are you going to swing by the studio? It doesn't matter to me, but you know what a kick the camera guys get when you come by. I mean really, what's the big deal? You'd think you were some kind of hockey god or something. Anyway, I'm running a little late so I'll talk to you later. Oh, and by the way, your children are killing me. I can already tell they're going to act just like you. What in the world did I do to deserve not one but three of you. All right, enough rambling, just call me when you get a chance. I love you."

Derek then heard the options and quickly saved the message. The thought of deleting her voice made him want to vomit.

He then pressed the button to hear the next message. "Mr. Venturi this is the emergency room at St. Vincent's calling. We got your number from your wife's phone. We're trying to stabilize her at the moment. She really needs to be taken into surgery but that's not an option at the moment. We know she's bleeding internally and to be honest things aren't looking good for her or your babies. Please get here as soon as you can."

"Oh my God, the babies," he whispered.

"Babies? As in more than one?"

"We found out at our first sonogram but we were keeping it a secret. We wanted to surprise everyone. Right now my whole life could just be slipping away from me in that hospital and there's not a damn thing I can do about it."

"Listen, just a couple of more red lights and we'll be there, just hold on."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Rick pulled up at the doors of the emergency room and Derek groaned. There was a swarm of paparazzi standing there just waiting for him to get out. "Damn those circling vultures," Derek said before throwing the collar of his jacket up and ducking his head low. Derek hurried out of the car as flashbulbs went off all around him.

"Mr. Venturi, what's the status of your wife and child?"

"Do you know if they've survived the crash?"

"How did you learn about the accident?"

Derek could hear the questions from every side, but he just ducked and ran through the doors, doing his best to restrain himself from breaking every camera that was stuck in his face.

Rushing into the waiting room he ran up to the desk. The nurse looked up with big eyes and said, "Oh my God, you're Derek Venturi. You don't know how much my boyfriend loves you. He..."

"Listen, I need to see my wife, Casey Venturi. She was airlifted here and I got a message that this is where I'm supposed to come. They said they were trying to stabilize her. Please, just tell me where to go."

"I'm sorry Mr. Venturi but there's still a team of doctors with her at the moment. I'll go back and tell them your here, but you'll have to have a seat and wait. They'll get to you as soon as they can."

Derek wanted to tell her that she was absolutely crazy if she thought that he was just going to have a seat and wait. As soon as she headed back, he followed her.

"I told you Mr. Venturi, you can't come back here."

"Listen, I'll give you and your boyfriend box seats to the Stanley Cup finals and I'll fly you first class myself if you'll just let me come back with you. I'll throw in an autographed hockey stick too. Just please, let me go back. I can't sit out there wondering what's happening."

She looked at him for a moment and then shook her head. "All right, but if I get fired for this your footing my bills too."

"No problem, now let's go."

The nurse walked back to the room and stopped. "Listen, stand right here and let me go in. I'll try to get someone to come out and talk to you, but please don't go in there." She paused for a moment as if contemplating her next words. Finally she added, "I really don't think you want to see her right now."

The nurse went in and Derek waited outside as he was told. Her words kept playing through his head, 'I really don't think you want to see her right now'. The mere thought of those words made his blood run cold. How could he go from the top of the world to the pits of hell in a matter of an hour?

Finally he was brought out of his thoughts by the nurse who was followed out of the room by a doctor. Derek recognized him as Casey's regular doctor and he felt a slight sense of relief. At least she wasn't in there with a room full of strangers.

"Dr. Andrews, how is she?" He asked, though judging by the look on the doctor's face he felt he already knew the answer.

"Derek, it's not good. Her heart has stopped twice. We're trying to get her stabilized but right now there's no way we can take her into surgery."

"And the babies, what about our babies?"

The doctor looked down and pressed his thumb and fingers to the bridge of his nose. Taking a deep breath he looked up and Derek could see the tears in his eyes. "We've attached fetal monitors and we've been doing sonograms when we get the chance. I'm sorry Derek, but we know that one of the baby's didn't make it. The little boy still has a heart rate, though it's very erratic. But I'm so sorry; your little girl isn't showing any signs of life."

Derek knew that if he hadn't been leaning against the wall he would have gone down in an instant. He leaned down putting his hands on his knees trying to regain some semblance of togetherness. "I need you to be honest, what are the chances that Casey and the baby will survive?"

"Honestly, I can't tell you that Derek. All I know is that you may have to make some type of decision soon. It could come down to your son or Casey."

And that was it. He couldn't hold it in any longer and he was totally overcome, sobs wracking his body. "Casey," he managed to choke out. "Whatever it takes, save Casey."

* * *

**Okay, here's the deal. If I have any reader's left after I killed the baby, I promise this is the worst of it. Don't leave me and say this is too depressing. This story is going to have great flashbacks and Dasey moments. Plus, we're going to end up in three different countries, two continents and go to the Olympics. Seriously, don't bail on my now! **


	3. Chapter 3

**First flash back!**

* * *

Derek walked back through the doors into the waiting room and found Rick sitting there.

When Rick saw Derek walk through the doors he immediately got up. "Turn around. Turn around now. Just do it."

Derek stood stunned for a moment until he realized why he was saying it. As he turned to head back through the double doors he could see the paparazzi smashed up against the glass entrance snapping away. Rick followed him back into the hallway.

"What did they say?"

Derek just stood there shaking his head, tears spilling onto his cheeks. "It's not good Rick. It's not good at all. Casey's heart has stopped twice already and they can't get her stabilized. They told me I might have to choose between Casey and our son."

Rick's heart sank with the knowledge of what Derek was implying. He didn't want to ask the question, but he had too. "What about the other baby, Derek?"

Fresh sobs escaped his lips. "Sh…she didn't ma…make it." And once again he was overcome with a grief so strong he felt he would suffocate. Sliding down the wall he held his head in his hands and cried. Cried like there was no tomorrow. And for him, he wasn't sure there would ever be one.

Rick was at a loss for words. What do you say to someone that's so broken and hurt? There were no words that seemed adequate, only hollow, shallow things that wouldn't stop the onslaught of emotions. So he did the only thing he could do. He slid down the wall and put his arms around Derek. He held him while he cried, his own tears sliding down his cheeks.

Suddenly they heard doors opening and loud noises; as they jumped up they saw people coming out of Casey's room. They moved towards the commotion and Derek reached out to stop Dr. Andrews.

"What's happening? Where are you taking her?"

"Derek, it's come to a point where we have to go into surgery. There's no way she'll survive if we don't get the bleeding stopped. I promise I'll come find you as soon as I know something. Now really, I've got to go."

Dr. Andrews started running down the hall and then suddenly Derek's heart stopped. There coming out of the room was Casey. She looked so pale and so still that for a moment he thought she was already gone. There wasn't a cut or a mark anywhere on her face and he wondered to himself how in the world she could be so critical and still look so beautiful. He felt his legs begin to buckle and thankfully Rick was behind him to hold him up.

"Hey Bud, have you talked to any of your family? It's all over the television. They really need to know what's going on."

Derek shook his head no. He had been so focused on Casey that he hadn't even thought about the panic their family must be feeling. He pulled his cell phone out and looked at the screen; it read twenty-three missed calls. "I really hate to ask this of you, but could you take my phone and call my dad and Nora. Tell them what's going on and to get on the first flight here. You might screen the missed calls and if it's someone we know will be discreet you can let them know what's happening. Otherwise, forget it. I don't want any information getting leaked. And could you please track down someone that can find a place for us to wait around here. I swear if I see one more photographer, I'll lose it."

"Sure no problem, but I really don't want to leave you alone."

"I'm fine. I'll just sit here and wait until someone comes to get me. Really, just call my family please. I know they're frantic."

Rick took the phone from Derek's hand and moved to head out the doors, once again leaving Derek alone.

Derek didn't know what to do with himself. He couldn't stand it, just sitting there waiting on news that could totally end the world as he knew it. His body literally ached for her, to feel her touch and the way her lips moved against his in absolute perfection. He remembered the first time he knew that feeling; he remembered it like it was yesterday.

"_Venturi speaking, what do you want?"_

"_Derek, its Case; how are you?"_

"_Hey Spacey. I'm fine and yourself?"_

"_I'm _o_kay but listen, I just want to cut to the chase and tell you why I'm calling. I need a huge favor and you're the only one that can deliver it."_

"_Oh really, and what would that be?"_

"_You know I've just starting interning at one of the local affiliates here in New York and it's really cut throat. I need a big interview to really set myself apart."_

"_And let me guess, you want New York Ranger hockey savior Derek Venturi to give you an exclusive interview."_

"_Well actually, yeah. I'm desperate Derek. I'm begging you, please; I need you to do this for me really badly."_

"_And what's in it for me?"_

"_Nice to know you haven't changed a bit in all the years I've known you. How about this, either you can come to my apartment and I'll cook you dinner or I can come to your penthouse and I'll bring Chinese?"_

"_Well, as tempting as the home cooked meal sounds I'll have to pass. If I remember correctly, fire departments can become involved when you cook."_

"_Please Derek, I'm desperate."_

"_Case, just stop groveling and let me finish. I guess I can cancel my plans to go out tonight and you can come over and we'll talk about it. But if you don't bring Thai Chicken the deals off."_

"_No problem, I'll be over at seven."_

_Derek flipped his phone closed and for some reason he couldn't get the smile off his face._

_xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx_

_Of course his doorbell rang promptly at seven and he thought to himself, 'typical Casey'. But when he opened the door anything but typical Casey stood before him._

_He was stunned to find a very tanned and toned Casey whose hair was now a very light brown with blond highlights strewn about. She had on black knee boots and a short plaid skirt with a red wrap around sweater. Evidently he had stood there too long in stunned silence because she had finally brought him out of his stupor by asking if she had to stand there all night or if he could at least help her unload the food out of her hands._

"_Uh, yeah, come on it," he managed to stammer out._

_She walked in with an air of confidence he had never seen in her before. Trying to shake himself away from some very disturbing thoughts he tried to bring some sort of normalcy to the situation. "You know, I could have sworn Casey McDonald was coming to see me tonight, so I have to wonder why in the world Reporter Barbie just walked through my door."_

"_Ha-ha Derek, very funny. The studio had an image consultant meet with me and he made a few suggestions. I guess I took them to heart. And please, no ugly remarks about my appearance. Hopefully our relationship has at least grown past that in the last few years."_

_Derek had wanted to tell her that anyone with eyes in their head would never choose the word ugly to describe what was before him. Instead he just raised his hands in the air as if to surrender, "Truce."_

_They had spent the evening talking and catching up, eating their food and emptying the contents of a bottle of wine that Derek had on hand. Their lives were so hectic now that they really only saw each other once a year and that was at Christmas. Though now that Casey was in New York, he couldn't help but wonder if he might be seeing more of her._

_Derek had even gotten out their high school yearbook and they sat side by side laughing at the crazy pictures and things that were written. Casey looked up and with a sincere voice said, "I've really enjoyed tonight Derek and listen, I really appreciate you doing this for me. I owe you big time."_

"_No problem, but what is it exactly that we'll be talking about."_

"_Well, that's the part you might not like. If it's okay, I'd like to film here. It'll be more of a here's his bachelor pad/what's he looking for in a woman kind of story than anything sports related."_

_He looked at her pointedly and she rolled her eyes. "I know, I know, it's not the kind of reporting I want to do either, but I've got to start somewhere. This is one of the biggest affiliates in the country and I really want to get on there. When I happened to mention that I knew Derek Venturi my boss almost spit her coffee out on me. This is huge Derek, please?"_

"_All right, but I'm calling a favor in sometime and no matter what it is, you're doing it. Okay?"_

"_Okay."_

"_Now what sort of things are you going to ask me? At least I can be prepared. I don't want to sound like a complete imbecile."_

_She grinned at him and chewed on her bottom lip and Derek felt butterflies doing somersaults in his stomach. His hands got sweaty and he felt like he was a sixteen year old boy again._

"_Oh just the normal stuff, we can go over some things now if you want." She moved to lean over him and place the yearbook on the coffee table._

"_Okay," he managed to get out, as he tried to shake the feeling that ran through him as she brushed against his chest when she put the book down._

_Casey twisted her body so that she was facing Derek and grinned. "It'll be a lot like the stuff you see on E. You know, how do you like living in New York? What do you do for fun? Are you seeing anyone? What are you looking for in a girl? Things like that, nothing hard hitting. It's kind of a New York's most eligible bachelor thing."_

_Derek was trying to concentrate on what she was saying but he didn't think he could take it much longer. He had had Casey's image burned into his memory for years and had thought that that Casey was wonderful. But this Casey, God this Casey was out of this world. Mustering up as much of his ego as he could he asked, "Do you want me to practice my answers? Like maybe I could tell you if I'm seeing anyone and what I'm looking for. You know, just to make sure you like my answers."_

_Casey shrugged her shoulders and nodded her head yes. Putting on her best TV face she looked straight at Derek. "You know Derek, you're known as one of New York's biggest catches. Is there a woman in your life at the moment or is there something specific your looking for in a girl?"_

_He wanted to believe it was the wine taking effect, but in his heart he knew differently. He took a deep breath and thought to himself, 'It's now or never Venturi. Go for it'. "Actually Casey unfortunately there's no one at the moment. But I can tell you that I've had the idea of the perfect girl in my mind for years."_

"_Oh, really? Do you mind sharing with everyone what your ideal girlfriend would be like?"_

"_Well, the first thing she would have to be is very strong. Most people might not believe this about me, but I'm very opinionated and I want someone who can hold her own."_

_Casey tried not to laugh._

"_What?"_

"_Sorry, but the part about most people not knowing your opinionated, come on."_

"_Hey, are we doing this or not?"_

"_Sorry! Go on."_

"_As I was saying, she has to be strong and independent. She needs to be stubborn and willful and committed and driven," he said as he moved a little closer to her._

"_A few hours ago I would have told you that she needed to have brown hair, but come to think of it, blonde works just fine," he said as he brought his hand up to her face and brushed a few stray hairs from her eyes. _

"_Der-ek," Casey said as her eyes grew bigger._

"_And, she has to say my name just right. You know, in a way that only she can. A way that lets me know that I've gotten under her skin or just made her speechless and she doesn't know what else to say." He moved forward again until his forehead was resting against hers._

"_And she has to have beautiful eyes. Blue eyes that convey more than any words could ever say. Eyes that look right into your soul and know what you're thinking without having to say a word."_

_Casey closed her eyes for a moment and when she opened them she stared back at him intently. He knew she was searching for something, anything that would tell her if he was serious, if he was telling her that she was it for him. Finally, she seemed to find her voice and softly asked, "Really?"_

_Derek didn't answer. Instead he placed his hands behind her neck and gently rubbed his thumbs against her cheeks. And leaning in, he closed the distance until their lips finally met. _

He was brought out of his thoughts by a hand on his shoulder. "I got a hold of your parents. You were right, they were beyond frantic. They're catching the first available flight and then they'll just catch a cab over here. I gave them my cell phone number to stay in touch. I wasn't sure how much talking you felt like doing."

"Thanks."

"Any word yet?"

"Nope, but to be honest, I'm really not sure I want to hear what they have to say. At least now I can imagine everything's going to be okay."

* * *

**All right, hopefully the flashback gave you enough happiness to continue on this journey with me. I promise we'll be experiencing those periodically through the story, especially in the beginning. **


	4. Chapter 4

**Another flashback!**

* * *

Soon Derek and Rick were joined by a nurse who Derek recognized as the one who had helped him when he first got there.

"I've found a room where you can wait without worrying about being bothered. If you'll just follow me I'll show you the way."

Derek and Rick silently followed her down a maze of hallways until they reached a room. Stopping outside it the nurse said, "I promise no one will bother you here and I'll make sure that the doctors know where to find you when they know something more about your wife's condition."

"You don't know how much I appreciate everything you've done for me and I don't even know your name."

"It's Haley Evans, Mr. Venturi."

"Please call me Derek and I meant everything I said before. If you'll just write down your phone number and address I plan to make good on my Stanley Cup offer and the hockey stick."

She grinned at him and nodded. "Thank you so much. My boyfriend is going to totally flip. And I really hope everything turns out all right for your family."

Derek nodded to her and then he and Rick went into the secluded room to wait. The television was already turned on and they were immediately hit by the sight of a picture of Derek and Casey together. Derek remembered it as one that had been taken about a year ago at a fundraiser for the Boys and Girls Club of America. The anchor was talking and Derek heard him say, "Casey Venturi is reported to be in surgery at the moment. We've learned that the Venturi's' were actually expecting twins and that one of the twins is reported to have not made it through the crash. Stay tuned for all the latest updates."

"Damn," Derek screamed as he kicked over a coffee table. "I'm sure they've paid some money hungry worker here at the hospital to get inside information. I didn't want anything reported until we knew exactly what we were dealing with. Do these idiots not care at all about anyone but themselves? It's all about the scoop and the all mighty dollar to them, to hell with people and feelings."

He was pacing now and Rick was worried. He knew that Derek had a tendency to over react when he or someone he loved was threatened and when it came to Casey all bets were off. It was no secret to anyone who knew Derek that everything in his life revolved around Casey.

Derek just kept pacing, thinking about how much Casey would hate being at the center of such a media frenzy. They knew that they both had jobs that put them directly in the public eye but Casey especially tried to keep a low profile. It still amazed her that people would actually pay money for pictures of them.

Of course he had always thrived on attention, but when he and Casey had first gotten together it was overwhelming to her. She was still just an unknown intern and she was afraid that suddenly just because she was seeing Derek Venturi everyone in New York City would want to know everything about her. And then there was the delicate matter of the tabloids finding out how they actually met and lived in the same house for four years while growing up. That had scared Casey to death and for a while Derek had thought it might be the breaking point of their relationship.

_"Hello."_

_"Hey beautiful. How do you feel about a little shopping spree courtesy of moi?"_

_"Wow, way to jump straight to the point, Venturi. And to what would I owe the pleasure of spending your hard earned cash?"_

_"There's a benefit downtown night after tomorrow and my agent just reminded me about it. It seems someone's been keeping me kind of side tracked the last couple of months. Have any ideas as to who that might be?"_

_Instead of returning his playful banter, Casey was quiet for a moment as if trying to choose her words wisely. "I don't know Derek. We've managed to sneak around without getting caught but if we do this, there's no turning back. We're public property."_

_"Casey, it's got to happen sooner or later. Unless you plan on ending this then it's inevitable that people are going to see us at some point. Besides, I want everyone to see you with me."_

_"You seem to forget that going public isn't just me being Derek Venturi's new fling."_

_"Hey, stop right there, you are not a fling. Or at least I don't consider us that. Are you telling me you're second guessing us?"_

_"Well no...I mean...maybe...I mean...oh Derek, I don't know what I mean."_

_His heart started beating very rapidly at the indecisiveness of the words she spoke._

_"Casey, come on. Could you really turn your back on us?"_

_"I don't know. I don't want to really, but it could ruin us. It could keep me from getting the job I want and Derek, you're the media's darling. What will it do for you when they find out that you're sleeping with your step-sister? You've got million dollar endorsement deals and those could be pulled away from you in a heartbeat."_

_"And?"_

_"And what?"_

_"I'm still waiting for something that would make me not want to be with you and I haven't heard it yet. Case, you're going to have to do better than that."_

_"Derek even if you lose every ad campaign you have, you've still got hockey. You still have the game you love and you're at the top of it. I haven't even gotten started yet. You know, I have goals and aspirations too and I'm not sure being know as Derek Venturi's girl is the way to get my foot in the door. Especially once they figure out our history."_

_"Our history Casey is that our mom and dad got married when we were fifteen. God we didn't even meet each other until after they eloped. How could anyone hold that against us? You can't help who you love and I love you. I'm not ashamed of it; in fact I'm damn proud of it. And if no one else in the world agrees with it but us, then I'm totally fine. But evidently I'm the only one that agrees."_

_"It's just not that easy Derek. Think about how it will look. One month I interview you about your bachelor life in New York City and the next month I'm out on the town with you."_

_"I thought we'd already established the fact that I don't give a flip how it looks to anyone. I would have gone public from the beginning but I didn't want to rush you. When you told me you weren't ready I understood but I didn't think it was going to be some deep dark secret that I would have to hide for the rest of my life."_

_"Come on, that's not what I mean. I just need some time to think about it. Can you give me that?"_

_"You know what Case, take all the time you need, but I'm not waiting around while you decide my future like you would what color to paint your walls."_

_"You're not being fair Derek."_

_"No Case, your not. When you decide what you really want in life give me call. Until then, have fun building your career." He didn't even give her time to respond, he just hung up and preceded to throw the lamp that had the misfortune to be the first thing he could get his hands on._

_And then of course he did something even more incredibly stupid, he called Rick and went out on the town for a night of clubbing and drinking. _

_The next morning he groaned when his phone rang. After finally fumbling it open he was greeted by the voice of his agent and it wasn't friendly._

_"Derek, you idiot."_

_"Not now Brad. I have a horrible headache."_

_"Exactly, and that would be because you are, must I say it again, an idiot. Would you like to know how my morning started? Here's a hint, it wasn't good. I got woke up this morning to the ringing of my phone with people wanting to know who the blonde was clubbing with Derek last night."_

_"What?"_

_"That's exactly what I said. It seems the New York Inquisitor is running a nice little picture of you out clubbing last night. But that's not the best of it, also included in this picture is a very voluptuous blonde hanging on your arm and snuggled right up against you."_

_"You're kidding?"_

_"You wish, and so do I for that matter. I really thought you were beyond this."_

_"Brad I promise I didn't go clubbing with anyone but Rick. I vaguely remember seeing someone like your describing and she was hitting on me. I told her I wasn't interested. And you're telling me this is in the paper today?"_

_"Sure is."_

_"Damn! No freakin' way is this happening. Listen, I've got to go."_

_"Wait a minute; you've got to give me more than that to go on."_

_"Sorry, no can do. Right now I've got a bigger problem on my hands."_

_"What am I suppose to tell everyone?"_

_"I don't know, but isn't that what I pay you for? Just think of something."_

_"I'll try and do damage control and tell them that it was just a random shot and there's no story to it, but you owe me big time. That means you better show up at that event tomorrow night and you better behave like a half civilized human being."_

_"Fine" he half threw out there before ending the call. He immediately called Casey's number and it rang until he got her voicemail._

_Evidently she had already seen the picture because she had changed her message just for him to say, "Hi, it's Casey. Sorry to have missed your call. Well, most of your calls. Actually, I might just be screening them to avoid a certain person. Anyway, leave me a message, unless you're the one being screened. You'll know who you are. Bye."_

_"Come on Case, just call me back. It's all a big misunderstanding. I don't even know who she is. She was just hitting on me and the picture was taken. I swear nothing happened last night except I was a complete jackass and had way too much to drink. Please call me so we can talk about this. I love you Case and you know that."_

_Of course she didn't call back and by noon he was frantic. _

_He knew she was working at the station until five so he headed over. He stopped by the florist and grabbed a dozen roses and soon he was walking through the station's doors. Evidently the receptionist wasn't expecting him to walk through door because all of a sudden she couldn't even form a coherent sentence._

_"I'm here to see Casey McDonald. Could you tell me where I could find her?"_

_"She's uh...she's uh...," and finally she just pointed in the general direction and he was off on his quest._

_He finally found her in a conference room with three other people. He knocked on the door and Casey rolled her eyes when she saw him._

_"If you can't tell, I'm working now Derek."_

_One of the guys looked up and when he saw who had entered the room he shook his head and said, "We can take a break Casey."_

_Casey started to protest but Derek spoke before she had a chance to say anything. "Thanks uh..."_

_"Stan, Stan Baker."_

_"Thanks Stan. Hopefully this won't take too long."_

_After the others had left Derek shut the door behind them._

_"Casey, please just hear me out. I was really upset last night after we talked and I called Rick to see if he wanted to go out. I had too much to drink but I swear nothing happened. That girl was hitting on me and I told her I wasn't interested. Someone must have snapped that picture while she was talking to me. I'm serious, nothing happened."_

_"Derek, I thought you had changed, that you had grown up. Evidently you're still just Slacker Derek. You remember how it is with you, have fun now and deal with the consequences later."_

_"Yeah, well guess what, your still Keener Casey. Just letting life pass her buy while she checks off the items on her list of things she thinks should happen. Guess what Casey, sometimes things just happen. You're not expecting them to but they just do."_

_"Yeah, things like pictures in the paper with blonde bimbos."_

_"No, I was thinking more along the lines of getting a chance to tell you all the things I always wanted to but was afraid. Casey, I love you. That's just the way it is. I love you today and I'll love you a hundred years from now. There's nothing that could happen to change that. I guess the real question is, are you going to let me love you and are you going to love me back?"_

_He walked over to her and placed his hands on her shoulders. "Case, you're it for me. And I'm sorry if that's not enough. I can't promise you it won't be hard. I can't promise you that there won't be narrow minded people out there who won't understand. But I can promise you that I'll stand beside you through it all and that if you love me as much as I love you then that will be enough to get us through whatever obstacles we have to face."_

_Casey looked at him the whole time, studying his face as if trying to read his sincerity. After he finished she closed the small gap that was still between them and buried her face in his chest. He embraced her, holding her tight to him and gently kissing the top of her head._

_She looked up and smiled. "I do love you Derek. More than I thought it was possible to love someone but I'm just scared. Most people don't have to live their relationships open to the public, especially a relationship as complicated as ours. But I want to be with you. Whatever it takes, we'll work it out. I want to be with you."_

Derek was brought out of his thoughts by Dr. Andrews walking in and he rushed over to where he stood. "How is she? Is everything okay?"

"We just went in and took the babies. Your son is okay for now. He weighs a little over three pounds and they've taken him to the neonatal unit. They're having to help him breathe, but if I had to say one way or the other, I think he'll be fine."

"And my daughter?" he had to ask, though he was certain he already knew the answer he would receive.

The doctor shook his head no. "I'm sorry Derek, but she didn't survive. She was much smaller than her brother. Even if she had survived the crash, I don't think she would have made it."

Derek shook his head in understanding. "And Case, how's she?"

"They're still working on her because they can't get the bleeding stopped. I'm going to be honest with you Derek. I know this is going to be hard for you to hear but right now they're doing an emergency hysterectomy. It's the only chance we have. I'm going back in there but I wanted to let you know that things look good for your little boy."

"Thank you, Dr. Andrews. Please make sure they take good care of her."

"I will. If you want to go down to neonatal I think they'll let you see the baby. I promise I'll track you down the minute I know something about Casey."

"Thanks."

The doctor turned and left and Rick put his arm around Derek. "How about a trip to see your son?"

Derek didn't say anything but nodded his head in agreement and they headed out the door.

* * *


	5. Chapter 5

* * *

Derek and Rick took the elevator and got off on the neo-natal floor. Derek paused for a moment and Rick urged him forward. They walked up to the nurses' station and Derek cleared his throat.

"Hello, I'm..."

"Derek Venturi, oh my gosh, you're Derek Venturi," the nurse said looking up from her stack of files.

"Yes and I'm here..."

"You don't know how much we love you. And I always watch CNN when I know your wife's going to be on. She is absolutely darling."

"Thank you, but I'm..."

"And I just know we're going to win the Stanley Cup this year. With..."

Finally Rick spoke up. "I'm sorry to interrupt, but Mr. Venturi is actually here to see his son. He was delivered emergency C-Section and Dr. Andrews told us if we came up here that Derek would be able to see the baby."

The nurse blushed and then began to immediately apologize. "I'm so sorry Mr. Venturi. I wasn't even thinking about what you're going through right now. I was just so shocked to see you in front of me and..."

Derek held up his hands as if to say no apology was needed. "That's fine. It's just that I'd really like to see my son. Is there any way you could get me in to see him?"

"Of course, but I'm afraid your friend will have to stay out here. Only family members are allowed."

"No problem. Your parents should be calling shortly and I'll also be on the lookout for any doctors with news."

"Thanks Rick. I don't know how I would have survived this without you. Please make sure the nurse comes to get me if you hear anything at all."

"Please come this way with me Mr. Venturi and I'll take you to scrub up. We have very strict procedures when it comes to visiting the babies in this unit."

Derek was taken back to a sink and received a cap, gown, shoe covers and a mask. The nurse showed him where the soap and gloves were and then told him to come back out when he was ready and that she would show him where to go.

As Derek washed up he came to the realization that this was real. Even when he had seen Casey before she went into surgery, it really hadn't sunk in. Everything had happened so fast that it just seemed like a nightmare that wouldn't end. But knowing that he was about to see his son was making it all too much a reality.

He went out and the nurse led him through double doors into a room filled with tiny incubators and machines everywhere. There was a mixture of sounds as each machine did something different to ensure that each baby was given the absolute best care.

The nurse led him over to an incubator against the far wall. There was a nurse standing over the small enclosed bed, closely monitoring the machines.

The nurse looked up. "Oh my gosh, you're..."

"Derek Venturi, I know. For some reason people around here keep thinking they need to tell me that."

The nursed looked down for a moment and then back up at Derek. "I'm sorry Mr. Venturi. I..."

"Don't worry about it. So how's he doing?"

"Everything looks really good right now. If you'd like I can step away and give you some time with him. See the little hole on the side of the incubator. You can stick your hand through there and touch him if you want."

For the first time since he had entered the room he totally focused on the little boy in front of him. The nurse stepped away and gave them as much privacy as she could.

Derek timidly put his hand through the hole and was able to hold onto his tiny foot. He cleared his throat as he tried to calm the storm of emotions that were swirling inside him. "Hey buddy, it's your dad. You don't know how happy I am to see you. I'd tell you that you're showing your Venturi genes by fighting so hard, but really it's the McDonald coming out in you. Your mom is the bravest person I know and right now she's fighting really hard so she can be with you. Now you've got to do your part so you can be ready for Mom when she gets better. She's going to need you more than anything in this world."

Tears were running down his cheeks but he didn't dare wipe them away, afraid that he might contaminate something. "It's going to be really hard without your sister and we need you to fight. There are so many things we want to do with you. I promise you're going to have a wonderful life and that you'll never want for anything. But you've got to fight; fight with everything in you."

The nurse walked up behind Derek and placed a hand on his shoulder. "I'm sorry to bother you Mr. Venturi and I don't know if you'll even want to do this. But we have your daughter in the room next door. Sometimes the parents will want to see the baby in order to form some type of closure."

Derek's heart immediately dropped into his stomach. He sat there for a moment trying to compose himself, searching for the words to speak. "I...I...," and finally he just shook his head yes.

The nurse shook her head in understanding and walked over to the door.

Derek took one more look at his son. "I'll be back soon. You stay strong."

Derek followed her through into a room that was very empty compared to the one he had just left. The nurse walked over to a little bed and picked up the smallest little bundle Derek had ever seen. When she reached him she held the baby out towards him.

"Can I take off the gloves and the mask?"

"Sure, that's no problem. When you get ready to leave, just knock on the door and I'll come back and bring you some more."

He nodded and then reached out and took the tiny baby. His heart immediately ached and he knew he had never felt such a pain in his life. It was more than emotional; it was a hurt so deep that he didn't know if he could manage. Looking down he saw the most perfect tiny face he had ever seen. The doctor had been right, as little as their son was he looked big compared to the precious baby he now held in his arms.

Sitting down in a rocking chair he brought the baby up to his face and placed a soft kiss on her tiny head. "Brooke, its Daddy," he managed to get out. He stopped for a moment to try and regain a semblance of control before he went on. "I'm so sorry baby. I don't understand why this happened; it just doesn't make any sense. I want you to know that no one will ever be more loved than you and your brother. I love you so much it hurts."

He moved his finger up and stroked her cheek. "I want you to know that you will never be forgotten. You will live in our hearts forever and we'll carry you where ever we go. And no matter what, you will always be my little girl."

He had no idea how long he had sat there just rocking her, but he was startled to look up and see his dad and Nora standing before him. Evidently the sight was too much for Nora to handle because she turned her face into George, burying it deep into his shoulder and sobbed.

Fresh tears sprang to Derek's eyes again. "I'm so glad you got here. Rick's been great but I need people here that really know what I'm going through, who loves them like I do."

George nodded his head in understanding. "I'm so sorry Son. The whole way here it just didn't seem possible that this could be happening."

"I know what you mean. I've been here experiencing it first hand and I can't believe it's real."

Derek got up from the chair and walked over to where they stood. Nora looked up but still the tears flowed freely.

"This is Brooke," he said with tears still streaming down his face. "They said she didn't survive the crash. When they got here they could never find a heartbeat. She was just too small and Dr. Andrews said there was no way she would have survived, but she looks so perfect. Don't you think she's beautiful?"

More sobs escaped from Nora and George could no longer put on a brave face. He reached his arm out and Derek gladly stepped into his embrace, feeling a sense of comfort for the first time since it happened.

When the nurse came back in that was the way she found them. "I'm sorry to interrupt Mr. Venturi, but the doctor is waiting outside to see you."

* * *


	6. Chapter 6

* * *

Derek took a deep breath as he walked through the doors to see Dr. Andrews. He was so relieved to have their parents there, and he found a great sense of relief knowing that he would have their love, support and help in the difficult times ahead. And as if to verify his feelings, George and Nora stood on either side of him, their arms wrapped around him in support.

When Derek saw Dr. Andrews face his heart stopped for a moment. He looked so tired and defeated that Derek thought for a moment that she was gone.

Taking a deep breath he asked the question that he wasn't sure he wanted to know the answer too, "How is she?"

"Recovering," the doctor simply replied.

"Thank God," Nora said turning to give Derek a hug.

Dr. Andrews went on, "Derek, she's had a really hard time of it. With the amount of blood she lost it's truly a miracle she's still with us. We did have to do the emergency hysterectomy and we also had to remove her spleen."

Derek nodded his head in understanding, "But she's going to be alright? She's going to make it?"

"Every indication points in that direction but it's going to be a long road to recovery. She's going to be very weak, not to mention the mental anguish that is going to take its toll on her body. She's going to have a lot to deal with when she wakes up."

"Where is she?"

"We have her in recovery right now. Usually I wouldn't let anyone go in there, but under the circumstances I think I'll make an exception. Would you like to go sit with her?"

"God yes, thank you so much."

"Derek, one of the reasons I'm letting you do this is because when she wakes us there are going to be a lot of unanswered questions for her. She's going to want to know about the babies and she's going to have to find out about the hysterectomy. Are you going to be able to handle that or do you want me to come in and explain."

"No, I'll do it. I want her to hear it from me. This is going to devastate her and I don't really want it to happen in a room full of people."

"No problem. If you'll follow me, I'll take you to Casey."

Derek took a step to follow the doctor and then turned back to his dad and Nora. "I really hate to ask you this, but could you stay down here with the baby while I go to Casey. I don't want either one of them to be by themselves. I know you want to see Casey but right now I need you to stay with him."

George nodded in understanding. "No problem son. We'll stay here as long as you like."

Derek walked back toward them and embraced them both. "Thank you so much. You can't even begin to imagine what it means to have you here."

"We wouldn't be anywhere else," Nora said. "Now you go take care of my baby and I'll go take care of yours."

Derek smiled, "Jase, his name is Jase."

George smiled back. "Well then, Jase is about to experience the first taste of years of spoiling by his grandparents. I promise he's in good hands. If anything changes we'll let you know and vise versa."

With that, Derek turned and followed Dr. Andrews to the elevator. Getting off on floor seven they walked through the heavy double doors into the recovery unit. When they walked by the nurses' station he could see them do a double take. He smiled but didn't say anything and soon they were standing at Casey's door.

"She's going to be really pale and it may take a while for the anesthesia to wear off. I'm afraid there won't be much to do but sit and wait."

"No problem. After everything that's happened, the thought of sitting here and just being able to touch her is enough. I'll be fine, really."

"Alright then, I'm going to give the nurses orders to call me as soon as she wakes up. I'm leaving it up to you to let her know what happened. I'm not sure if you want to tell her everything or gradually let it sink in. You know her better than anyone, so I trust your judgment in this."

"Okay. And Dr. Andrews, there aren't enough words in the world for me to thank you. I promise if there's anything you ever need, anything at all, I'll do anything in my power to see that it happens."

"No problem Derek, I just wish I could have done more."

Dr. Andrews left the room and Derek was left alone with Casey. Walking over to her bed, he leaned down and brushed the hair from her forehead and placed a gentle kiss there. "Oh baby, you scared me."

He wanted to say more, but there were no words. Nothing could convey the relief and joy he felt from being with her again, knowing that they would have tomorrow and all the days after together.

He pulled a chair up to her bed and took her left hand, rubbing it between both of his. He noticed that her rings were gone and assumed that they must have been taken off when she went into surgery. He smiled to himself as he remembered what he went through to get those rings on her finger the first time.

_When Casey pulled away from him in the conference room after telling him that no matter what, she wanted to be with him, his mind went into overdrive. It immediately went to thoughts of how they could make the reveal of their relationship as smooth as possible for her._

"_Marry me," he said, the words coming from his mouth without thought._

"_What?"_

_He smiled at her. "Marry me, marry me now. I don't know; we could just catch a plane to Vegas tonight and do it. What do you say?"_

"_You don't know? Derek, I've known you for a long time and that is absolutely the craziest thing I've ever heard come out of your mouth."_

"_Why, Case? Why's it so crazy. You love me right?"_

"_Well yes, but…"_

"_No buts. You love me and I love you. I know that won't ever change for me. Are you planning on falling out of love with me anytime soon?"_

"_Well no, but…"_

"_Uh, uh, uh, I said no buts. Think about it. We could do away with a lot of the speculation by just going ahead and getting married. We would have full control with how this comes out. We could set up one interview, telling the world and then it's off topic. We won't discuss it anymore."_

"_You're actually talking like this is happening."_

"_That's because it will be if I have anything to say about it."_

"_How can we do that? We don't have rings and I don't have a dress. Don't you want our family to be there?"_

"_To be honest, the only person I care about being there when I get married is you. We can do a private ceremony at home later if you want. We'll have the biggest blow out Canada's ever seen, but right now, it can just be you and me."_

"_Derek, you haven't thought this through at all. I know when you walked through those doors you weren't planning on proposing. This isn't something you just decide spur of the moment."_

"_Why not? It seems to me like it's a great solution to a situation that's going to be difficult any way you look at it. Why not start forever today?"_

"_I'm sorry Derek, but it's just not that easy. I mean a girl grows up imagining the man of her dreams asking her to marry him and I'm sorry but this isn't how I pictured it, a spur of the moment offer just to dodge a sticky situation."_

"_Is that what you think this is? I wouldn't have asked you if I only wanted to get through a tabloid firestorm. Casey, I love you and that won't change."_

"_I'm sorry Derek, but no. Now I really have to get back to work." She moved to kiss him and he let her though she could tell he wasn't thrilled at the moment. She could still see his wheels turning and only hoped that nothing too earth shattering would come from the fallout._

_Derek shook his head as he walked out of the room after saying goodbye and thought to himself, she doesn't know it yet but this isn't over by a long shot._

_He went straight to Casey's boss' door and knocked._

"_Come in."_

_Derek walked through the door as she looked up. "Oh my gosh, Derek Venturi."_

"_In the flesh," he said with a smirk. He knew this woman was enamored with him and he wasn't above using it to get what he wanted._

"_What can I do for you Mr. Venturi?"_

"_Please call me Derek, Susan," he said as he looked at the name plate on her desk._

"_Alright then," she said, her eyes still huge from the shock of him being there. "What can I do for you Derek?"_

"_Well, I actually need a favor from you."_

"_A favor from me?"_

"_Yes, I need you to let Casey McDonald off for the rest of the week."_

"_Well, she's an intern and interns don't usually get vacation leave Mr.… I mean, Derek."_

"_I can understand that, but this is a special situation. How about I sweeten the deal? You can keep a secret can't you, Susan?"_

"_Of course," she said, the intrigue evident on her face._

"_What if I promised you an exclusive interview on a topic that will be the biggest thing to hit New York City all year? Not another word will be mentioned about it to any other news agency. You would have all the rights."_

"_You're serious."_

"_I guarantee it."_

"_And all I have to do is let Ms. McDonald have the rest of the week off?"_

"_That's it. No other strings attached."_

"_This is for real?"_

"_You bet!"_

_She smiled at him brightly and held out her hand, _"_All right then, it's a deal."_

_Derek smiled at her. "I think you're going to be very happy with this. But I need one more favor, don't tell Casey she has the week off."_

_She looked at him questioningly._

"_Just trust me; it could be the deal breaker."_

"_All right, but I'm holding you too this."_

"_No problem," he said as walked out the door. "Have a great day Susan."_

_He mentally checked the first item off his list and it was now on to the next. Looking through his phone he found the number for his travel agent, "Yes Nancy, this is Derek Venturi, I need…"_

_xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx_

_Casey got to her apartment and the only thing she could think about was getting her shoes off and changing clothes. It had been one hell of a day and she needed a glass of wine and a bubble bath. She hadn't heard from Derek since the fiasco at the station and she wondered silently if he was going to try and punish her for a while for not allowing him his way._

_When she opened her door she was totally taken aback by the sight before her. There wasn't a light on in the room but it was illuminated by literally hundreds of candles. Derek was sitting in a chair that faced the door and immediately got up and walked towards her. He helped her off with her coat and then walked her over to the chair he had been sitting in._

_He looked at her with a smirk, knowing that he had literally rendered her speechless. Teenage Derek reared his head for a moment and he was tempted to tell her he thought he had just accomplished the impossible, because Casey McDonald was never at a loss for words. Biting back the comment he settled for the words he had played over and over again all afternoon in his head._

"_Casey I know that seven years ago you would have never believed I would be saying this, but meeting you is the absolute best thing that ever happened to me."_

_She smiled at him but didn't say anything._

"_You know I'm not really good with these things and I definitely screwed it up this afternoon. Basically I just want you to remember the things I told you in my apartment two months ago. I meant every word of it. You set the standard for what I wanted in a girl all those years ago. I know everything about us is unconventional, but it's also absolutely perfect."_

_She was still looking at him intently and he took this as a good sign. "I want to marry you Casey and I want it to be now, tonight. I know when we were back at home you always told me that I always felt I had to get my way, that 'what Derek wants, Derek gets'. And guess what Casey? I've never wanted something more in my life. Come with me," he said as he reached out his hand._

_She took it without hesitation and he led her into her bedroom. There hanging in various places around the room were five wedding dresses. She looked at him questioningly and finally found her voice. "What is this?"_

"_You said you didn't have a dress and I didn't want that to be an excuse. You'd be surprised at how willing the people at Vera Wang are when you tell them you want to buy five dresses."_

_She shook her head and tried to regain her composure. "You're telling me you bought five Vera Wang dresses for me?"_

"_I wanted you to have a choice, but I'll let you in on a little secret," he said pointing to one that was hanging in front of her mirror. "I like that one the best."_

_She looked at it for a moment and then smiled, "Me too."_

"_Come over here," he said as he led her towards her bed. They both sat down and he took her hand in his. "I bought five gowns but I only bought one of these," he added as he pulled a ring box out from under her pillow._

_Casey looked at him wide eyed as he held it before her and slowly flipped it open. She tried to speak but nothing came out at all. She had never seen anything so exquisite in her life. _

_He let go of her hand and removed the ring from the box. "When I saw this I knew it was the one and I have the matching wedding bands in my pocket. Casey I want you to let me put this ring on your finger, to allow me the privilege to be able to say for the rest of my life, 'that's my wife'. I've got our bags packed and ready to go. Will you marry me?"_

_She smiled and shook her head yes as she held out her hand. He placed the ring on her finger and then brought her in close to him. "I'm going to make you happy for the rest of our lives," he whispered into her ear._

"_I know," she said as she pulled away. _

He was brought out his thoughts by the movement of her hand in his. Looking up he saw her eyes flutter open. He could tell she was very disoriented and silently prayed for strength. How in the world do you tell the person you love more than anything in the world that life as you knew it yesterday, no longer exists?

"Derek?" she managed to whisper.

* * *


	7. Chapter 7

* * *

He was brought out of his thoughts by the movement of her hand in his. Looking up he saw her eyes flutter open. He could tell she was very disoriented and silently prayed for strength. How in the world do you tell the person you love more than anything in the world that life as you knew it yesterday, no longer exists?

"Derek?"

One of his hands immediately went up to her face and he stoked it lovingly with the back of his hand. Putting on the bravest face he could muster he smiled at her. "Hey my princess, you don't know how good it is to see those beautiful blue eyes of yours."

She was still blinking her eyes as if that would help drive the fog from her mind. Derek didn't offer anything else. He wanted to make sure that she wasn't rushed into anything. He would answer her questions as they came but he wouldn't be volunteering any information.

She moved her hand up and placed it on his. "I feel horrible. What happened?"

"Do you remember anything that happened yesterday?"

She closed her eyes for a moment and he could tell that she was thinking back, trying to sort things out in her head.

"You had a game and I couldn't go because I had to work." She paused for a moment and bit her bottom lip. Derek knew that look; he had seen it for years. When she was thinking really hard, concentrating, she always bit her bottom lip and got a certain look in her eyes.

"I was running late so I hurried and threw a few things together and ran out to the car. I think I…I called you right? I left a message on your phone."

Derek nodded his head in agreement.

"And then…" she paused for a moment. "I hung up from you and I looked up and the light was turning red but I didn't have time to stop."

Derek could tell she was getting more emotional and he wondered for a moment if he should make her stop and let him go get the nurse.

"I couldn't stop in time and I looked up and there was a moving van coming towards me. I tried to get out of the way and I swerved but I…I think I hit someone else."

Derek moved out of his chair and sat on the edge of Casey's bed as close as he could get.

"I don't remember anything after that."

"You were unconscious when you got here and it was really touch and go for a long time. They didn't know if you were going to make it. Baby, I have never been so scared in my whole life."

Suddenly a look of realization came across Casey's face and it was soon followed by one of shear panic. Her hands immediately moved down to her stomach and her eyes, eyes full of questions and fear, looked to Derek for answers.

"Our babies Derek, where are our babies?"

Derek had tried to be brave. To put up a good front for Casey's sake but he couldn't. He couldn't hold it in any longer. With tear streaming down his cheeks he opening his mouth to speak, but was stopped by the look on her face. He had never seen a look of fear on someone's face like that before, though he assumed it was much the same as the one he had worn when finding out. He swallowed and tried to speak again, but still nothing came.

"Oh my God," she began to say over and over again, "Oh my God, my babies."

Derek looked at her as he tried to form the words. But every time he tried to speak he would get lost in her eyes.

She was frantic now. Grabbing a hold of his arm she pleaded, "Please Derek," she begged.

He took a deep breath and literally willed himself to speak, and he actually found himself shocked when something finally came out. "Our parents flew in and they're in the neo-natal unit with Jase. He needs some help with his breathing right now, but Dr. Andrews says all indications point to a very healthy baby boy in the future."

"How big were they?"

Derek realized that she hadn't picked up on the fact that he had only mentioned Jase. He knew how distraught she was and that it wasn't sinking in that he had said only one baby was in the neo-natal.

He took her hands and did his best to smile. "I'm not exactly sure, but Dr. Andrews said that he weighed a little over three pounds."

He stopped there and decided that Casey would have to ask about Brooke. He couldn't do it; he just couldn't bring the subject up. Of course he knew he would only have a moment to compose himself before the question was asked, and he was right.

"Where's Brooke? Did they have to fly her out? Was she too small?"

Derek closed his eyes and nodded his head. Placing his hands on her shoulders he looked her straight in the eyes, "She was very small Case, so small that she just couldn't get through it." And then he looked down. He knew he was a coward but he couldn't look at her as he went on, knew that he wasn't strong enough to carry the memory of the look on her face that was sure to come with his next words. "They hooked you up to fetal monitors and did a sonogram as soon as you were stable enough. Dr. Andrews said that Brooke never showed any signs of life after you arrived."

Casey didn't respond and Derek willed himself to look at her. He had been so scared to hear her response to the admission of Brooke's condition, but now he was much more frightened by her lack of response and the look on her face. There was a blank look that Derek was scared wouldn't leave for a long time.

"Casey, I'm so sorry baby. If you had seen her you would have realized that there was absolutely no way she could have survived. Jase looks like a giant compared to her."

"You...you saw her?"

He shook his head yes. "I was in with Jase and the nurse came in an asked me if I'd like to see her. They said sometimes it helps the parents to have closure."

"Where is she now? Can I see her?"

Derek was taken aback by her calmness and sensed that it was the shock setting in. "I'm sorry Case but they told me I needed to make arrangements for her and I didn't know how long you were going to be in surgery our how long it would be before you woke up."

"So I don't get to say goodbye?" she asked.

"Baby they had to come get her. It was time."

She looked away without a word and Derek sat petrified. He knew that he couldn't let her shut herself down, to close away from him. He squeezed her arm but she didn't respond.

"Hey?" he said but still no response.

"Casey you can't shut me out. We need each other; I need you. Listen, I'm going to get the nurse. I'm sure they need to know you're awake and to check on you. Plus, Dr. Andrews wanted to know the minute you woke up."

He was devastated to see that she still didn't respond. He leaned over and placed a kiss on her temple and walked out to the nurses' station.

"Excuse me, but my wife just woke up. Could you please call Dr. Andrews and let him know."

The nurse smiled at him. "No problem, Mr. Venturi." Then turning to the nurse beside her she said, "Call Dr. Andrews and let him know she's awake and I'll go check on her."

They walked back into Casey's hospital room and Derek saw that she was still turned away from him looking at the wall, but there was something different now. He could see the tears sliding down her face and he wondered to himself if the pain would ever go away. Just when he thought it couldn't get worse, something else would happen and the rawness of his wounded heart would eat away at him even more.

The nurse walked around to the other side of the bed so that Casey could see her. "I'm Cheryl, Mrs. Venturi. I'd like to take your vitals and ask you a few questions, okay?"

Casey didn't answer but shook her head yes.

The nurse took her blood pressure and temperature and wrote it down on the chart before asking, "Mrs. Venturi, how are you feeling?"

"Sore," she simply replied.

"Yes, C-Sections will leave you sore and when you add in the fact of the hysterectomy and the removal of your spleen, you'll be sore for quite a while."

Casey's head immediately turn to look at Derek, "Hysterectomy?"

Derek closed his eyes and ran his fingers through his hair.

The nurse was taken aback by Casey's reaction and then realized that Casey had no idea what had occurred. "I'm so sorry," she immediately began to apologize. "Dr. Andrews said you were going to talk to her and I just assumed she knew."

"It's not your fault. Can you just give us a few minutes please?"

The nurse nodded her head and left without another word.

Derek walked over to her bed and sat down. "Casey, it was so touch and go for awhile. The doctor actually came out at one point and told me that I might have to choose between you and Jase. They couldn't stop the bleeding and they couldn't get you stabilized. The surgery was the only hope we had to keep you alive. Casey, it saved your life."

She looked at him and a chill ran straight through him. It was almost as if he didn't even recognize the person in front of him. "No Derek, my life is over." And then she turned away from him once again.

* * *


	8. Chapter 8

* * *

She looked at him and said, "No Derek, my life is over," and a chill ran straight through him. It was almost as if he didn't even recognize the person in front of him.

And then she turned away from him once again. The thought of looking into his eyes and seeing disappointment and hurt was more than she could bear.

Derek placed his hand on her cheek and tried to turn her face back towards him but she resisted. Derek took a deep breath, "Uh-uh, Casey, you're not doing this. Look at me."

There was still no response and he shook his head. "I mean it Case, you can either turn your head and look at me or I'm going to turn it for you. Which one's it going to be?"

She closed her eyes for a moment as she turned her head, willing an emotional wall to be formed so that when Derek looked at her he would see nothing at all. "Take a good look, Derek. Are you happy now?" She was about to turn away again but he put his hand out and held it in place.

"Hell no, I'm not happy now. Casey you've got to talk to me. We can't do this without each other. You can't begin to imagine what this is doing to me to see you like this. It's eating me alive Case."

Casey's only reply was to roll her eyes. He had no idea what it was like to be eaten alive, she thought to herself.

Derek pursed his lips into a thin line and shook his head again. "Casey, we're together for better or worse and this is as bad as it gets. Talk to me, just please, talk to me."

"I can't." she answered, the shame inside her weighing so heavy that she felt she would suffocate.

"You can't or you won't?" he asked gently.

"Derek you don't understand," she said brokenly, her emotions starting to escape though she tried to keep them in.

"Then help me," he begged. "Casey, it's my job to take care of you, to love and protect you. How can I do that if you won't let me?"

And that was it. He wasn't sure what he had said differently, but it triggered something because suddenly Casey's body was consumed by sobs. It was the most heartbreaking sound Derek had ever heard in his life.

He moved to lie down in the small space that was left beside her in the bed and he gathered her in his arms and held her. Held her as she clung to him and cried.

"Ssh Baby, its okay... I'm here...its okay... Just let it all out baby," he said lovingly as he ran his fingers through her hair as his own tears fell.

He had no I idea how long they lay like that but finally she had calmed to a point where the only sound was her ragged breathing as she seemed to be spent from the release of so much emotion, but still she desperately clung to him.

He moved to lift her face to his but she resisted.

"Hey, look at me."

She shook her head no and buried her face deeper into him.

"Come on Case, it's all right, just look at me."

She shook her head no once again.

He thought he heard her say something but he wasn't sure. "What?"

She pulled away from him slightly but still made no movement to look him in the eyes.

"I don't want you to look at me."

"Why not? Why wouldn't you want that?"

"You must hate me," she said as the sobs started once more. She knew what those babies meant to him. Derek had wanted children from the day they were married. And now there wasn't even the promise of more to come. All she wanted was for the ground to open and swallow her, taking her away from all this guilt and shame.

He moved down carefully so as not to shake her too badly, "Hate you? Why in the world would you ever say something like that, let alone think it. Casey you are my world."

"I only had one job to do," she said quietly, her eyes still refusing to look into his.

"What do you mean?"

"I only had one job to do. I was supposed to love and protect them."

At that moment Derek realized what had finally triggered her emotional outburst. When he had told her that it was his job to love and protect her, she was brought back to the fact that she felt responsible for the twins' ultimate well being. She was wrought with guilt and he had no idea how to take that away.

"It was my job to protect them and I didn't," she whispered.

"Casey you can't blame yourself for this," he told her, pleading with her to understand.

Finally she looked at him. "Then who am I supposed to blame? Who else is there to blame but me? I don't know how you can even stand to be in the same room as me. I hate myself Derek. Why couldn't it have just been me?" she said as sobs overcame her once more. "I just want to die Derek; you should have just let me die."

Derek held her tight and searched for the words, the right words. But deep in his heart he knew there were no right words at this moment. She was in the depths of a sorrow so deep that she felt there was no hope for survival.

"Listen to me," he said pulling away from her. "You have two very good reasons to go on. Casey, I know what it feels like to think I won't have you in my life anymore. I lived with that hanging over my head for hours. Casey you are everything to me. And if that's not reason enough, you have a little boy in NIC U just waiting for his mom to come see him. I told him you were the strongest person I knew and the last thing I told him was to stay strong. I told him he would have to be strong for you and now, I'm going to tell you the same thing. That little boy needs his mom."

He brought his face to hers and gently placed a kiss on her lips. Pulling away he said, "Casey, we're going to get through this. Whatever it takes, we're going to get through it. But you've got to be strong and when you don't think you can do it anymore, lean on me. I'm not going anywhere. We will survive this, I promise."

* * *


	9. Chapter 9

* * *

Derek was emotionally and physically spent. He had just completed his second night with virtually no sleep while he and Nora switched between Jase and Casey. The one thing he was thankful for was that the nurse had given Casey something to help her sleep and she had rested peacefully throughout the night.

Jase was doing remarkably well and Derek couldn't help but feel a huge sense of pride as he looked down at him. The nurses had even said that if he continued to do so well they might even be able to bring him home in a month and the thought of that made him grin.

He was startled out of his thoughts by the feeling of a hand of his shoulder. "Has it sunk in that he's really yours yet?"

Derek shrugged, "In some ways, I feel like I've waited for him my whole life. When I look at him Dad, I don't know, it's just all so unbelievable. I can't imagine what would have happened if we had lost him too. He's the one bright spot in this nightmare."

George looked at Derek as he spoke and saw the pure exhaustion that covered him. "Derek, I know you want to take care of everyone, but Son, you're going to have to take care of yourself too. You've got to get some rest."

"Dad, I don't have time for rest."

"Why don't you let me stay here with the baby? Nora's with Casey and she's still sleeping. Go down to the cafeteria and get some breakfast. I know for a fact you haven't eaten a thing since we got here. Then you can go check on Casey. I promise I won't leave him alone."

Derek gave him a tired smile, "All right. To be honest with you, I've been surviving on black coffee the last few days. It's kind of been low on my priority list."

"Then go, if anything changes I'll call you."

Derek enveloped him in a hug. "Thanks dad; I just can't say it enough. I couldn't have made it without you here."

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Walking into the cafeteria he ordered his breakfast. After he paid he headed to a table in the corner, trying to be as inconspicuous as possible. He had almost reached his destination when he was stopped by a newspaper on the table. Looking down he saw a headline that read, 'Venturi's Recklessness Leads to Child's Death'. There was a picture of Casey's mangled car along with an article detailing things that could have only come from an inside source in the hospital.

Derek panicked at the thought of the paper accidentally being brought into Casey on her breakfast trey. His own food being long forgotten he headed to the newsstand outside the cafeteria and saw a janitor sweeping the hall way and approached him.

"Hey, I was wondering if you could do me a favor. I'm…"

"You're Derek Venturi. Oh my gosh, I love you…you're my…"

Derek wanted to roll his eyes at the man's reaction but knew that now wasn't the time. He needed this guys help and he needed it fast. "Listen I really hate to interrupt you but I need a favor."

"Really?" the young man asked eagerly.

"I've got one hundred dollars here. If you'll go gather every newspaper in the hospital and get rid of them, I'll give you two hundred more."

The man looked at him questioningly. "So, all I have to do is get rid of all the newspapers?"

"That's it. I'll either be in the NIC U or in my wife's room. Her name is…"

"I know who your wife is Mr. Venturi. Everyone knows the two of you, you're Dasey. Your wife's name is Casey."

Derek winced. God he hated the Dasey name that the tabloids had stuck them with. He often wondered how his life ever got to the point where the public used a nickname to describe them as a couple. Never in a million years did he think they would be the next Brangelina. "Yes, her name is Casey. Now what's yours?"

"My name is Scott, sir."

"Well Scott, do we have a deal?"

The young man grinned, "We sure do. I'll come and find you when I'm finished."

Derek handed him the one hundred dollar bill and added, "Just tell the nurses your there to see me but don't tell them why. I'll come out and give you the rest of your money."

The young man nodded in agreement as he left and Derek headed to Casey's room.

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When Derek opened the door he saw Casey still resting peacefully with Nora sleeping in the chair beside her, holding her hand.

Derek tried to close the door as quietly as he could but Nora stirred when it shut.

"Sorry," he said as he walked closer. He looked at Casey and realized how tiny she looked. He had become so use to seeing her with her large belly that seeing her now just pounded home the fact of the severity of her situation. She was so weak and frail and it killed Derek to see her like that, but at the same time she looked like an angel, still his beautiful Casey. "So I guess she's doing okay?"

"She's resting peacefully which is more than I can say for you. Sweetie, when's the last time you slept or had anything to eat?"

Derek sat down in the chair beside her. "I haven't slept since the day of the accident and the last thing I ate was before my hockey game. I actually just went to the cafeteria to grab a bite to eat but I lost my appetite pretty quick."

"What happened?"

"I saw the newspaper and it made me sick."

"So they have an article about the accident in there today?"

"Oh not just any article, the headline article, saying that Casey was driving recklessly and that she caused the baby's death. I'm paying a custodian three hundred dollars as we speak to throw every copy of it in the hospital away."

"Derek honey, you can't protect her forever. You know your life is public property to the media."

"Yeah, well if I can protect her just for today then I'll feel like I've accomplished something. What good is all that money if I can't use it to benefit my family? God Nora, you know all I wanted to do was play the game I love and all she wanted to do was be able to change people's lives through the stories she reported. We didn't sign on for all this celebrity, but when it came we tried to use it to help others. We've helped more charities than I could ever count. And this is how we get paid back. You would think people could respect us a little at a time like this."

"Honey, unfortunately it doesn't work that way. They're all fighting for the inside scoop. As sickening as it is, your tragedy is their paycheck."

"Yeah, we'll I hope they make a big one, because if I see one slanderous thing printed I'm going for their jugular and it won't be pretty."

They were interrupted by movement coming from Casey's bed. Her eyes fluttered open and she smiled as she saw the two of them.

"Hey baby," Derek said moving to sit on the bed beside her. Leaning down he placed a kiss on her forehead and asked, "How do you feel today?"

"Really sore," she said as she tried to adjust herself.

"Well maybe this will make you feel better, after breakfast the nurse said we could take you down to see Jase."

Casey's eyes brightened at the thought and it made Derek smile.

"How's he doing?"

"Really good," he told her with a genuine smile. "In fact, the nurses said that he might even be ready to go home in a month."

"Can we go now?"

"Not yet. You've got to eat and then we'll go, I promise."

Casey smiled at him and Derek's heart soared. And at that moment he knew he would do whatever it took to keep that smile there.

* * *


	10. Chapter 10

**It's short, but there's light my friends!**

* * *

Derek walked back in from the nurses' station just as Casey was finishing the last of her breakfast.

"What did they say," she asked, her eyes filled with hope.

Derek walked over and sat down beside her. "Anxious much," he asked as he grinned.

"Says the one who's got to spend tons of bonding time with our son," she said with a pout.

"I know Baby, I know. Dr. Andrews is actually next door with a patient and then you're next. After that, I'm sure you'll get the go ahead to see Jase."

"Well, I have news for them; go ahead or not, I'm seeing my baby. We'll just have to plan some covert mission or something to break me out of here."

Derek loved seeing this side of Casey. He had saw those flashes of lostness in her eyes at times this morning, but seeing her like this gave him hope that they would survive. He leaned over and cradled her face in his hands. "My, aren't we being defiant today? I like this Casey," he said as he leaned in to kiss her.

Just then they were interrupted by Dr. Andrews. "Good morning Venturi's. I hope I'm not interrupting anything."

Derek looked up and grinned at the doctor. "Nothing that can't be continued later. Right now we have a patient ready for a jail break if you don't tell her what she wants to hear."

"Well, I'll see what we can do; I don't want any fugitives loose in the hospital."

He walked over to Casey and looked at her chart. "How did you rest last night?"

"I was okay after the nurses gave me something to help. I wasn't in the best frame of mind after I came to after the surgery."

"I can totally understand that. It was certainly a lot to digest for someone, especially someone of your age."

"Do you mind if we don't talk about it right now? My total focus is going to be on Jase and I've decided everything else can wait."

"I admire your devotion to your son but Casey, you can't hold everything in. I can give you the name of a great therapist and I can also prescribe you something to help with depression."

Derek was ready to get off the subject. He didn't want Casey dwelling on the negative anymore. "So doc, is she ready for a trip?"

"Just let me check her stitches and I think we can arrange it."

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When they walked into the nursery they saw their parents standing beside a nurse talking. Just as they approached them the nurse turned and walked away.

Nora smiled at the couple and asked, "Well did we have to steal a chair or is this on the up and up?"

"Actually no crimes were committed. We got the complete go ahead from Dr. Andrews. Now, what did the nurse say? How's Jase?" Casey was dyeing for any information she could get.

"They said he's doing wonderfully, getting stronger and stronger as we speak."

Casey grinned at Nora's response.

Nora leaned down and placed a kiss on the top of Casey's head. "Now that you're here, I think George and I will go get a hotel room and clean up. I think the three of you deserve some bonding time. We'll be back soon though."

Derek dug his hand in his pocket and pulled out his keys. "No way, take these and go to the house. That way you can bring us a bag back. If I don't get a shower soon these nurses are going to start talking about something other than the fact that I'm 'Derek Venturi'," he said as he used his fingers to make air quotes.

"Yeah, plus the fact that he might loose his Right Guard and Schick endorsements, because Lord knows he needs them both right now," Casey said grinning up at him as she pinched her nose in feigned disgust.

Derek leaned down and rubbed his stubbly face along Casey's cheek. "You know you love the rugged look."

Nora and George looked at each other and smiled; smiles that said, everything might just be alright. I think they'll survive.

George took the keys from Derek's hand and asked, "Can we bring you anything else while we're out?"

"How about some Chinese food," Derek added, "and please don't forget the Thai Chicken."

"No problem," George said as he and Nora headed out the door.

Derek was still leaning down beside Casey's chair as he asked, "Ready to meet your son?"

Casey didn't say a word but nodded her head yes. She was a nervous wreck at the thought of seeing him all hooked up to tubes but at the same time she couldn't wait to be able to see him. It wouldn't seem real to her until she could actually see and touch him.

Derek wheeled her over to Jase's crib and Casey held her breath. Nothing had prepared her for the sight of her son. She couldn't help but look past all the tubes and see the most perfect thing she'd ever laid eyes on.

Derek took two gloves from the container, handing one to Casey and putting the other one on. Sticking his hand through the hole he stroked the baby's leg. "Hey Buddy; I brought someone special to see you. Your mom's here."

He removed his hand and urged Casey to put hers in. "Just stick your hand through and you can touch him."

Casey looked at him and he could see the reservation in her eyes. "It's okay I promise. Just rub his leg or hold his foot. Talk to him Casey. Just talk to him like you would if you were holding him. The nurses said that preemies who are touched and talked to respond and get better much faster."

Casey tenetively took her hand and placed it through the small hole. Derek heard her gasp as she touched him and immediately he saw the tears come to her eyes. He squatted down so that he was at her level and placed his hand on the other side of her head, making it to lie down on his shoulder.

"He's amazing isn't he," Derek whispered.

Casey nodded her head in agreement, "Beyond."

* * *


	11. Chapter 11

**No more hospital!**

* * *

"Forget it Casey, it's not happening. End of discussion."

"No it's not end of discussion. You're going."

"Do you realize what we're about to do? We're leaving the hospital at three in the morning to avoid the press and you want me to go on a week long road trip and leave you to deal with all this?"

"Yes. I'm a big girl Derek; I can take care of myself."

"Casey you don't know what its like out there. There are cameras everywhere just waiting to get a shot. You've known since the day we got together that you're my number one priority and now there's Jase to consider too. The hospital was gracious enough to put us up here while he was getting better but the real world is about to hit. All I want to do is protect the two of you and I can't do that if I'm half way across the country."

"Do you realize what you'd be doing to yourself, not to mention your team mates? Derek this is your year. This is the Rangers year. And I'm not letting you throw it away. You've already missed almost a month and I'm not going back to work for a while. I can take care of him you know," she said with a disappointed look on her face.

Derek gathered her in his arms and held her close. Pulling away slightly he looked down at her. "Baby I know you can take care of him. You're a wonderful mother; it's not about that at all. It's just that I want to take care of both of you and I can't do that if I'm not here."

"Derek you can't protect me forever. I know what they're saying about me and it hurts. I know what happened to Brooke is my…" she faltered and couldn't go on, as the grief swept over her once again.

"Stop it. It wasn't your fault. None of this was your fault. And see, this is why I don't want to go. Who's supposed to talk you out of these silly thoughts when I'm not here?"

"Can't we just try it for one road trip? If it gets too much to handle I'll call you. I promise. But if you don't finish this season, I'll never forgive myself. Please?" she asked, her eyes filled with hope.

Derek ran his fingers through his hair and thought for a moment. "I'll make you a deal. If you'll go stay with our parents in Canada, I'll play. But only if my coach agrees that I can just fly in on the day of games and catch the next plane back to you. I won't be practicing, just strictly playing. I can't play if I know you're by yourself."

Derek saw her eyes light up. "Do you think they'll agree to that?"

"I don't know but I'll find out first thing in the morning. Now I believe we have much more important matters to attend too, something about bringing a baby home maybe?"

Casey smiled and grabbed his hand. "Well what are you waiting for slow poke," she said as she dragged him out the door.

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As they walked out to the waiting limo they were bombarded by flashes. Once again, someone had tipped them off and he was furious. He held Jase in his carrier, a blanket shielding him from the cameras as he guided Casey towards the car with his other hand. The photographers were screaming questions from every direction.

"How are you feeling Casey?"

"How are you dealing with the grief?"

"Do you blame yourself for the accident?"

"What are your plans now?"

Casey entered through the open door and Derek followed closely. He said nothing until he had Jase securely latched in and then he turned to Casey, "Welcome to the real world Case."

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Derek woke up before Casey and tiptoed over to the crib. He smiled at how peacefully Jase was resting. He was overcome by his need to protect them from what had occurred on their trip home. He just didn't understand how people could be so cruel. He wondered to himself how in the world people could live with themselves after they had screamed out such hurtful things. His blood literally boiled at the thought of someone asking Casey if she blamed herself for the accident. It had taken everything in his power not to shove that camera down the reporter's throat, but he resisted, knowing that's technically what they wanted. It would have made an even greater story for them, not to mention all the money they would have received from suing him. And in the end, Derek wouldn't give them the satisfaction of either.

He reached down and ran his hand across the top of Jase's head and then walked over to get his cell phone. Walking out of the bedroom, he headed down stairs to his office and called his coach.

"Hello."

"Hey coach, it's Derek. How are you doing?"

"I'm okay, though I think I'd be better if I knew you were coming on this road trip with us. I know everything you're going through but our lead is slipping fast."

"That's actually why I'm calling. To tell you the truth I don't want to play the rest of the season, but Casey won't hear of it so I have a compromise if you'll take it."

"I'm listening."

"I want to take Casey and Jase back home to Canada to stay with our parents. If you'll let me fly into whatever city we're playing in on game day, I'll play. But after the game I'll be getting on the next flight home to my family. I'll pay all the expenses out of my own pocket, but here's the catch, I won't be practicing with the team, just playing games. That's the best you're going to get out me, and you can actually thank Casey that you're even getting that."

There was a pause on the other end of the line. Derek thought he was about to tell him no deal and if that occurred then Derek had a few choice words of his own for him. Finally the coach spoke, "Derek I think that's a very workable solution. We both know you don't need the practice but we need you to play. When can you start?"

"I'll have to get Casey and Jase settled first, so I probably won't be able to meet up with the team until Friday in Dallas. Will that work?"

"Sounds great, but you know what's coming up in six weeks."

"I know, but I'm just going have to miss them. Maybe in four years I'll get the chance again. But I'm not going to Russia and leaving them, Olympics or not."

"Derek, you're national team is depending on you. They're hailing you as their savior. You're going to be letting a lot of your fellow countrymen down."

"To be honest with you, I only worry about letting two people down. And as long as they're okay, I can deal with the rest."

* * *


	12. Chapter 12

**There's a flashback. Enjoy!**

* * *

Casey woke up and immediately smiled. She could feel Derek's arm wrapped around her as he snuggled behind her burying his face in her hair. She hadn't even known that he had gotten back in from Boston but an immediate sense of relief rushed over her.

The arrangement was working out quite well but the one thing Casey didn't like was all the hours Derek spent in the air. It made her nervous knowing that he was flying that much but she knew it was the only way.

Derek's solution of coming home had been wonderful. She knew she wouldn't have survived in New York without Derek for any amount of time at all. The press was still at it and their manager had suggested that they do a controlled interview to help alleviate some of the stress. They were still talking over the prospect of such a thing but Derek just wanted to shield her from any exposure at all and right now, she had to say that it suited her just fine.

Casey didn't understand how you could go from media darling to media doghouse so fast. She had to admit that the mainstream media was being very kind to them but the tabloids were another matter. Derek was livid and had already had their lawyer file lawsuits against two different publications. They had immediately printed retractions and had to pay out substantial settlements to the March of Dimes and Boys and Girls Clubs of America, charities that they regularly supported.

Casey refused to even look at any form of media. She hadn't read a newspaper or watched a bit of television since they had arrived in Canada and it suited her just fine. Her days were pleasantly occupied with her family and friends.

She had especially enjoyed spending time with Emily. She and Sheldon had a two year old son and it made Casey smile to think that in a few years that would be Jase. But Emily was six months pregnant at the time and she had to admit that it was hard to see her like that. The thought of never carrying anymore children was a constant thought in the back of her head. Jase was the absolute joy of their lives and the thought of never doing it again was almost more than she could bear.

She didn't like the thoughts that were starting to bring her mood down and she decided she knew just the trick to wipe them from her mind. Rolling over she nuzzled Derek's nose with her own before gently trailing soft kisses from his mouth to his ear and whispered in a sing song voice, "Wake up, wake up."

"Mmm," was Derek's only reply as buried his face deep into her shoulder.

"Come on sleepy head, it's time to rise and shine."

Derek groaned and managed to get out, "Says the one who went to bed before three in the morning."

"Ooh poor baby. I guess I'll just have to lay here bored out of my mind with nothing to do."

Derek finally opened his eyes and moved to look at her. "What time is it anyway?"

"Seven, and why didn't you get in bed before three. Your plane was due back at one."

"Because when I got home Jase was just beginning to wake up and being the thoughtful husband I am I let you sleep and I fed him."

"Oh, since you did me a favor I'm supposed to do you a favor and just let you sleep, huh?"

"It's sure something to think about. In fact, why don't you do that while I close my eyes for a while?"

Casey let him close his eyes and she lay there contently wrapped in his arms. It was so ironic that eleven years after their initial meeting, she was lying in what used to be Derek's room, cuddled up against him. It was an absolutely crazy situation considering the rocky start they had gotten off too.

She couldn't help but smile as she remembered telling their parents about their relationship. She was lying in his arms much like she was now when their little plan was hatched.

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_Derek kissed the top of her head as he pulled her tighter too him. "You know, there's still one thing that hasn't been done yet, don't you?"_

_Casey looked up at him with a confused look._

"_Come on Case, maybe the little matter that we could get caught at any moment by stalking paparazzi and our relationship could be thrust into the forefront of national print and television, and yet we haven't even told our parents yet."_

_Casey mouth moved into the shape of and oh and she nodded her head. "Well we could call them right now and tell them."_

"_And what would the fun of that be? No, I have something much bigger and better planned than that."_

"_All right, you've got me interested, tell more."_

"_You, my beautiful baby, are going to get on the phone and tell them that you're bringing home a man to meet them. That he's wonderful, charming, handsome, successful…"_

"_I think that's enough adjectives, move on."_

"_Anyway, as I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted, you'll tell them that you've met the man of your dreams and that you're flying in on Friday and you want them to meet him."_

"_All right and then you show up with me right?"_

"_Well yah, but on Thursday, I'm going to call them and tell them the same thing. They'll probably panic thinking we're coming at the same time to do the same thing; that we'll think that the other one is trying to steal our thunder. I'll make a big deal out of it and then we'll show up together on their doorstep."_

"_Are you sure about this? I'm afraid one of our parent's hearts might not be able to take the shock."_

"_Ha-ha, very funny. It'll be great, I promise."_

_She ran her hand up and down Derek's arm and placed a kiss on his chest. "Are you sure Derek? What if it's not great? What if they think it's horrible?"_

_Derek scooted down until his face was level with hers and placed a gentle kiss on her lips. Pulling away he grinned, "That won't happen, I promise. They'll be over the moon about this and can you imagine how Marti's going to react. She tried to match make us a million times, throwing us in crazy situation after crazy situation. She's going to be thrilled."_

_Shaking her head reluctantly she chose to channel Derek's positive attitude. "All right then, I'll make my call today and then you'll make yours Thursday."_

_xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx_

_They had both told their parents not to worry about meeting them at the airport; that they would just rent cars and come directly to the house. Derek had said that his flight was arriving two hours after Casey's to avoid suspicion, though they believed with all their heart that their parents would have never caught on one way or the other. _

_Pulling up in the drive way, Derek turned and took Casey's face in his hands. He looked directly into her eyes as if looking for any sign of apprehension or regret and finding none he smiled. "This is it. So how should we do this, maybe a big make out session as they open the door?"_

_Grinning, Casey placed her hands over Derek's. "Let's don't go for that much shock value. I think maybe standing there with our arms around each other might be a little more tactful. I'm sorry, but I'm still not counting out a heart attack as a distinct possibility."_

_Derek laughed as he leaned in to kiss her. "Well I'm up on my CPR and you can be ready to call the ambulance. Let's go."_

_They walked up to the door and she rang the doorbell. Wrapping her arms securely around Derek's waist she waited for the door to be opened._

_Nora and George both stood in front of them when it opened and Nora began, "Oh, Casey, we're so glad you're here and we're so excited to meet…Derek?"_

_They had looked at each other and smiled. He then turned to face their parents. "Am I not everything she described and more?"_

_Still they said nothing, instead just standing there dumbstruck. _

"_Mom, George, are you okay? Derek, I told you this wasn't a good idea." She said as her eyes began to fill with tears._

_Derek pulled her in close. "It's okay baby. Our parents are just a little shocked right now, but thrilled, aren't you?" He asked as he put special meaning to the words 'aren't you'._

_George had finally come to his senses and stepped forward to bring them both into his embrace. "Oh course we are. It's just a little, well maybe a lot, surprising. But it's a wonderful surprise, right Nora?"_

"_Uh, yeah, wonderful," she managed to get out with shock still evident on her face._

_Casey wasn't convinced and immediately began to cry as she turned her face into Derek's chest. He gathered her in his arms and held her tight, whispering in her ear the whole time. "Its okay baby, I promise. I love you so much and everything's going to be okay."_

_Once again George and Nora stood awestruck at the sight before them. Where did this Derek come from? Had Casey really been able to turn him into someone this loving and caring?_

"_Come on guys, come in. You can't stand out on the porch forever."_

_Casey reluctantly pulled away from Derek enough to step inside. Derek grabbed their luggage and followed her in. _

_Nora moved to hug Casey and urged them to come take a seat in the living room._

"_So, how did this all happen?" George asked as they were seated._

_Derek, making sure that Casey was securely wrapped in his arms, began to speak. "Well, right after Casey took her internship; she called and asked if she could interview me. Her boss was a huge fan of mine and Casey thought she could score brownie points by pulling an interview."_

_Shaking his head, George interrupted, "Nice to know your egos still okay, Son." _

_Derek chose to ignore the comment and continued on, "Casey brought Chinese over to my place and we had a great time. We reminisced and looked at old pictures and it was the most fun I'd had in forever." He stopped long enough to give a reassuring kiss to Casey before he went on. "I'm going to be honest. I think you both know that Casey and I never considered ourselves to be brother and sister though we did have those feelings with the rest of the kids. Casey was just always so intriguing to me. Like a puzzle that you couldn't figure out but none the less you kept trying."_

"_I think I always dated so many girls because I was always telling myself in the back of my head that I was looking for someone like Casey. When the fact of the matter was, I wasn't looking for someone like her, I was looking for her. That night, I took a chance."_

_He looked down and grinned when he saw Casey looking up at him adoringly. "She wanted to do this interview about my bachelor life in New York City and she asked me the question, 'Is there anything special you're looking for in a girl'?"_

"_That's when I decided that I'd been holding onto that idea in my head since high school. She was that ideal girl and now she was right in front of me and I wasn't wasting the opportunity. Luckily she felt the same and we've been on a whirlwind ever since?"_

"_Who else knows?" Nora asked._

"_Only __the four of us; you can't imagine what my life is like and I want to protect her from that for as long as possible. She's not ready to go public and I respect that, though I want to tell the world I'm in love with her."_

_Those words brought tears to Nora's eyes. Was this unconventional? Of course it was, but if she was honest with herself, this family had always been unconventional. But she couldn't help but smile as she heard Derek talk about her daughter in such a loving manner. All she had ever wanted for her was to be loved and protected and she knew that no one would do a better job of it than Derek. He had always been above protective with those he loved and cared about, and it would have been evident to a blind man that Derek loved Casey more than anything in the world. Now she just had one more question, "Casey, how do you feel about all this?"_

_Casey sat up straighter but still wrapped in Derek's protective embrace. "Mom, I feel like the girl who just had her most secret fantasy fulfilled. Derek is my dream come true and I've never been happier in my life. But I need to know we have your blessing. If the two of you won't except us how can we expect the world too. Derek's life is open to the public and I've got to know that when things get tough, we have you to fall back on, that you'll be our safe harbor in the storm."_

_George and Nora both smiled as they looked at the two. Finally George spoke, "You'll always have us and we couldn't be happier. You have our blessing, along with our love and support."_

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Casey was brought out of her thoughts by the sound of Jase. Just as she was about to get out of bed Derek stopped her. "I'll go get him. I hardly got to spend any time with him at all yesterday and I'll be flying out again tomorrow. I'll go get him and his bottle and bring him back in here. You just rest."

Casey grinned and nodded her head. "Okay, okay, I see how it is. You're too tired to make out with the wife but wide awake for the son?"

Derek grinned back, "Not quite. I'm always up for alone time with you. I'm going to have to plead temporary insanity due to lack of sleep. What was I thinking turning you down," he said as he rolled her over and kissed her soundly. "Maybe that will hold you over until I come back."

"Maybe," she said as she pushed him out of bed. She was just about to get up and change when she heard Derek's cell phone ringing. She looked at the number and not recognizing it decided to answer. "Hello."

"Hello, could I speak with Derek Venturi please?"

"I'm sorry he can't come to the phone right now but this is his wife. Can I take a message?"

"Yes, this is Brian Howard. I'm the coach of the Canadian National Team. I've been playing phone tag with him for a week and I'm actually starting to think he's avoiding me. I really need to know his decision on the Olympics. I've got to find a replacement if he's not going but I don't really want to do that. I don't think he understands what he means to this team and to his country in general."

Casey sat there listening. She had been in such a daze the last few weeks and without looking at any media at all, she had forgotten that they were coming up. She immediately realized that Derek was avoiding making the call because he was torn. She knew what playing for his country meant to him but at the same time she knew he would never leave her and Jase and fly halfway across the world for that amount of time.

Coming back to her senses she spoke to the man on the other end of the phone. "I'm sorry Mr. Howard but things have been crazy in our lives lately. I promise that I'll talk to Derek and he'll call you with an answer this afternoon. You have my word."

"Thank you Mrs. Venturi. He can reach me at this number all day, but I need to reiterate to you how vital it is that he make a decision."

"I understand and you have my word. He'll call you with a decision later today."

She was just hanging up the phone when Derek walked back into the room carrying Jase. "Who was that on the phone?" he asked innocently.

"That" Casey said with eyebrow raised, "was Brian Howard. And you have a lot of explaining to do."

* * *


	13. Chapter 13

_

* * *

_

Last Chapter:

_She was just hanging up the phone when Derek walked back into the room carrying Jase. "Who was that on the phone?" he asked innocently._

"_That" Casey said with eyebrows raised, "was Brian Howard. And you have a lot of explaining to do."_

* * *

Derek shifted nervously from one foot to the other while he moved Jase onto his shoulder. He could tell she was waiting for him to say something but he really thought it best if she fired the first shot.

"Well," she finally said.

"Well what," he answered back.

"Well," she started again, "would you like to tell me why he's been trying to reach you for a week and you haven't returned his calls. I know your voicemail is working just fine because I left you a message while you were in the air yesterday and you called me back after you got to Boston."

"Yah," he simply replied.

"Yah? Yah? Is that all you have to say for yourself?"

He gave her a sheepish grin and shrugging his shoulders and once again he replied, "Yah."

Casey rolled her eyes and walked over and took Jase from Derek's arms. She gently gave him a kiss on the forehead before laying him down in the bassinet that they kept in the room.

"Hey, why'd you do that?" Derek asked.

"Because," she said as she walked back over to him and gave him a firm but playful punch in the arm. "I didn't want you holding my son when I did that."

"So, I guess I'm in the doghouse, huh?"

She placed her arms around his neck and looked up at him. "That's a pretty good way to sum it up. Why are you avoiding him? You've looked forward to this for years. There is no greater honor for an athlete than to represent their country at the Olympics. I refuse to let you let this opportunity pass you by."

He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her close, moving in to give her a soft lingering kiss. After slowly pulling away he grabbed her hand and motioned for her to move over to where Jase was lying, "Come here."

Once they were standing over the basinet he wrapped his arms securely around her. "I understand what an honor it is, you know that. It really is the greatest honor an athlete can have. But guess what Case, I'm not an athlete first. The greatest honor I have is that everyday I get to be your husband and I get to be this little boy's daddy. I know what it was like to think that I wouldn't have that opportunity. I lived it."

Casey looked up at him and was overwhelmed by the sincerity and truth of the words he spoke. She wrapped her arms around him and laid her head on his chest. "I can't even imagine what it was like for you not knowing if we were going to make it or not, but Derek they're depending on you. You have a responsibility."

Derek kissed the top of her head. How could he make her understand the magnitude of responsibility he felt for keeping them safe and happy. He knew that whatever he said she would have a counter response for and he was really at a loss for what to say next. Taking a deep breath he began again, choosing his words very carefully.

"Casey, you're my responsibility, you and Jase. The only reason I'm even playing hockey right now is because you begged me too. I would have gladly given them back my salary for this year and just stayed with the two of you. I won't leave you for two weeks and traipse across the world for a game. They'll live without me."

"They might live without you but they won't survive without you. You know how much they need you Derek. No one can replace you."

Derek smiled at her faith in him. He moved down until his mouth was positioned right by her ear. "I'll let you in on a little secret, contrary to popular belief, and I'll deny it if you tell anyone I said this, but I'm not superman. I can't win the Olympics for Canada. I'm just one person."

She pulled back and looked him directly in the eyes. "But you're the best person they have. Derek, I want to watch you. We'll go with you. We'll take Jase and we'll all go to Russia."

"Casey, you're not thinking straight baby. The doctor barely let you come to Canada. Do you really think he's going to let you fly half way around the world?"

"We won't tell him. I'm doing fine Derek. I promise. You see how good I'm getting around. I know what I can and can't do and for that matter what I want and don't want to do. I want to go to Russia and I don't want you to miss the Olympics. Please, if you love me you'll say yes."

He began shaking his head immediately. "Oh no, don't start that with me. Don't even think about starting with the 'if you love me' stuff. I love you more than life itself and that's why I'm telling you no."

"Well guess what, this is one time it's going to be 'what Casey wants, Casey gets'. We're going, end of discussion."

Derek ran his fingers through his hair and bit his bottom lip. How could she use one of the qualities he admired in her most, her tenacity, to get to him? He moved his hand to his face and began rubbing his eyes. "Is there anything I can do to talk you out of this?"

She looked up at him and grinned, "What do you think?"

"Okay then, here's how it's going to work. You're going to call Dr. Andrews and get the okay. If he doesn't give you the okay then everything's off."

She threw her arms around his neck, "Thank you Derek, thank you so much. I knew you'd see it my way."

She moved to go get her phone and Derek called after her, "You have to put it on speaker phone and talk in front of me."

She turned to look at him, "You don't trust me?"

"I don't trust that you'll tell him everything. I know how you're capable of turning any situation to your advantage. Casey, this isn't a game. I'm serious; I love you too much to risk anything."

She nodded her head in understanding. "I know you do Derek and I love you too. I promise it will all be on the up and up."

Derek turned back to the crib and picked up Jase, holding him out so that they were looking at one another. "Son, there is your first lesson in women. What they want, they get. But guess what, I promise it's worth it."

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	14. Chapter 14

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Derek walked through the door of the bedroom and gently placed his bag down in the corner. He sat down in the computer chair and smiled as he looked at Casey sleeping peacefully. It was already seven in the morning. His flight at been delayed and he had spent hours in the airport trying to stay out of sight, but still ended up answering at least a hundred question, signing autographs and posing for countless pictures with fans.

It wasn't that he was ungrateful. He really wasn't. He had always been very open to his fans, but last night all he could think about was that Casey and Jase were home and he wasn't with them. Since he had agreed to go to the Olympics the media circus had seemed to double, if that was possible. Everyone wanted an interview from him, but he was still holding out. His manger had said he would make them agree to only sports related questions, but still he resisted. He knew how interviews worked, and there was no guarantee that they would stick to the deal. The thought of having to relive the accident or the loss of Brooke in front of millions of people was just too much.

Just the thought of Brooke brought tears to his eyes. How could you miss someone so much that you never knew? Casey never spoke of her, instead choosing to focus on Jase but secretly Derek worried that the realization would hit her one day and he was scared to death that he wouldn't be there to help her through it. Just last week as he was getting off an airplane he witnessed a little girl running towards her father. The father had scooped her up in his arms and told the little girl, "I missed you so much Brooke." He had immediately had to duck his head as the tears began to fall, once more overcome with the fact that he would never hold his daughter in his arms again.

He was brought out of his thoughts by a light knock on the door. He turned his head to see Nora peeking in. "Did you just get in?"

"Yeah, my flight was delayed and I spent most of the night at the airport."

"Well look at the bright side, think of all the frequent flyer miles you're wracking up."

Derek rolled his eyes. "Yeah, that really makes it worth it."

"Derek, I know you don't want to do this, but it's important to Casey. I think this gives her some sort of normalcy. She still carries a great amount of guilt around about the accident and your playing makes everything seem a little more normal."

"I can promise you that the only reason I'm doing this is for her. If it wasn't so damned important to her I'd be here with them all the time. How does she seem to you when I'm not here?"

Nora shrugged her shoulders. "Pretty good most of the time, but every now and then I catch her holding Jase with a far off look in her eyes and I know she must be thinking about Brooke."

"She won't even talk about her. I tried to bring it up once since she left the hospital and she just said that she wanted to focus on Jase. I'm really worried that it's all going to come crashing down on her at some point. And it terrifies me to think I won't be here when it happens."

Nora walked over to where Derek was sitting and kneeled down so that she was eye level with him. "Derek I know how much you love her and how much you want to protect her. But there's only so much you can do. Things happen in life. And sometimes they're horrible but you can't protect her from everything. She's got to stand on her own two feet sometime."

Derek shook his head. "I'm sorry, but I can't accept that Nora. I'm responsible for them."

"Derek, of course you're supposed to look out for them but you can't protect them from everything. What happens when Jase goes to school and someone says something hurtful? You can't be there with him every minute of the day. They'll have to fight their own battles at some point. Casey's a strong girl Derek. And I know that she draws a lot of that strength from you. But don't smother her and sugar coat everything. She's going to have to overcome some things on her own." She reached over and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "I'm about to go make pancakes. Why don't you wake up sleeping beauty and come down in about thirty minutes."

"Okay. And Nora thanks. I don't know what we'd do without you and Dad."

Nora smiled back at him. "Well, it's a good thing you'll never have to find out. Now go wake her up, I know you're dyeing too."

Walking over to the bed he lay down and moved to brush the hair out of her face. Leaning in he pressed his lips against hers and was immediately rewarded with the feeling of her lips turning up into a smile.

"Mmm, Sidney," he heard her say.

He immediately pulled back. "Who the hell is Sidney?"

Casey opened her eyes and grinned. "Oh Derek, it's you. I must have been dreaming about Sidney Crosby."

She had to laugh out loud when she saw the anger flash through his eyes. "You dream about Sidney Crosby?"

She moved towards him and rolled him over until she was half lying on top of him. "No silly, I'm just playing. I knew that would get you going. I promise there's only one hockey god I dream about every night and unlike other groupies; I get to wake up to mine everyday."

She saw him relax at her words. But she had to admit she loved how she could still make him jealous after so much time had passed.

"Well good," he said reaching up to give her a small peck on the lips. "Because you know, Sidney Crosby is ancient news."

"Whatever helps you sleep at night," she said.

"Oh I can show you what helps me sleep at night," he said as he rolled her over and began trailing kisses up her neck.

"I think if you keep doing that no one will be getting any sleep," she said as she moved to meet his lips with her own.

Just then they heard the distinct announcement that Jase was awake. Derek groaned and let his head fall until it rested in the crook of her neck. "I need to train that boy better. His timing sucks."

Casey laughed and pushed Derek off her. "I'll go get him and bring him back. Then you can explain to me why you never came to bed last night."

As she was getting up, she accidentally knocked a glass off of the nightstand and it shattered. She moved to pick it up but Derek stopped her. "You go get Jase and I'll clean up the mess."

Casey leaned over and gave him one more quick kiss before she headed out the door.

Derek moved to pick up the glass but a notepad on the nightstand caught his attention. Written on it was Casey's producer's name along with the words, 'story on the plight of Russian Orphanages' in Casey's distinct handwriting. Derek quickly picked up the glass and disposed of it and was sitting on the edge of the bed when Casey walked back into the room.

"What's this," he asked holding up the notepad for Casey to see.

Casey didn't say anything until she had seated herself by Derek on the bed. She handed Jase over to Derek as she took the notepad from his hand. "Susan called me last night. She heard I was going to Russia with you and she wants me to do a story while I'm over there."

"No," was Derek's immediate response.

Casey raised one eyebrow and looked at him pointedly. "Since when is it up to you to decide if I'm ready to go back to work or not?"

He turned so that his body was facing her. He tried to keep his voice as even as possible but he still couldn't help but let some of the anger show through. "Since you started deciding when I went back to work. You know what Casey; I've let you call all the shots through this whole ordeal. How many times have I told you that if I had my way I wouldn't even be playing right now? Because of you I spent my night in an airport answering a million questions and playing nice with fans for hours, all because you want me to keep playing."

Casey's eyes grew big as she listened to him. He could tell that she wasn't prepared for the way he had spoken to her and he immediately felt bad. Moving Jase up to his shoulder, he took one of Casey's hands with his free one. "I didn't mean to sound so harsh, but you're supposed to be taking it easy while we're over there. Doing a story doesn't sound like taking it easy to me."

"I know Derek, but it's a really important story. We've spent our whole relationship working towards the cause of children. There are so many in these places, just waiting for someone to take them. I really feel like this is important."

"I know you do Case, but everything's still so raw and fresh. It's a lot to deal with and I don't want you to get over there and it all be too much to handle."

Casey looked down so that she didn't have to see Derek's reaction when she whispered, "You're talking about Brooke aren't you?"

Derek's heart almost leapt out of his chest as he heard her say their daughter's name for the first time since shortly after the accident. "Casey, it's just a lot to deal with and I don't think you've really dealt with the fact of her death."

"Well, maybe I would have if I'd been able to hold her like you," she said harshly.

Derek squeezed his eyes shut and a pain shot straight through his heart. "Casey I explained that to you. There was no other way."

She immediately felt bad for trying to lay a guilt trip on him. "I know and I'm sorry for saying that. It's just that sometimes it's hard for me to imagine that she was ever real. It almost seems like a dream sometimes."

Derek got up and moved to place Jase in his bassinet. Coming back over to the bed he gathered Casey in his arms. "I know how I feel but I can't begin to know what you're feeling. I want you to talk to me Case. I want to help you but I can't if you won't let me."

"I know, but I'm afraid if I ever start I won't be able to stop again. I need to be strong for Jase and the last thing I want is for you to have to deal with a basket case."

"I would never think that. We've gone through something that to most people would be their worst nightmare. And we're surviving. We're getting through it one day at a time. But that doesn't mean I don't miss Brooke. It doesn't mean that I don't think about her everyday, because I do. And I know you do too. It's okay too."

"I just feel like maybe doing this story would honor her memory. That by helping these kids I can do something for her. She never had a chance, but they do. I really want to do this story Derek."

Pulling back he looked her straight in the eyes. "Then do it. Do for Brooke. But please, if it gets too much, come to me. Talk to me about it. Please don't shut me out."

"I won't shut you out," she said. "We've lead a crazy life haven't we? A lot has changed since the first time I walked into this room eleven years ago."

"Case, that could be the understatement of the century."

* * *

**For those of you who don't know who Sidney Crosby is, he's a real cutie who plays for the Pittsburg Penguins. Oh, and I don't own him or his team either!**


	15. Chapter 15

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Stepping off the plane in Russia was truly like stepping into another world. Derek had refused to travel over with the rest of the team and wouldn't hear of staying at the Olympic Village. This had saddened Casey because she had wanted him to experience this in full, but she knew she was lucky to have gotten him here at all and she would let him call the shots from here on out.

The opening ceremonies would be taking place in three days. Before that she had set up a meeting with the director of the orphanage to take her on a tour and discuss the outline of the story she would be doing. She knew this was a very big thing that she was being allowed to do. Many in Russia still felt the Americans, which is what they considered CNN, held a 'holier than thou' attitude when it came to them and didn't want them scrutinizing the way they handled things.

George and Nora would be accompanying them on the trip, coming over the next day. Derek was footing the entire bill telling them that it was the least he could do after all the years they had to put up with him. To be experiencing this with their parents and to know that they would be there to help with Jase was truly a blessing. She knew their coming was allowing her to pursue the story she was growing more and more passionate about everyday.

Casey looked over at Derek as he stood beside her, holding Jase. He was looking around taking it all in and she could tell he was deep in thought. Taking hold of his arm with one hand she rubbed her other one over Jase's tiny head, "Penny for your thoughts."

He looked over at her and grinned. "I was just standing here thinking that twenty years ago I put on my first pair of hockey skates. When I got out on the ice it felt like I really belonged somewhere for the first time in my life, like instantly I knew it was something I was created to do. I've watched my heroes on television for years play in the Olympics. But never in a millions years did I really let myself believe that I'd actually get to do it one day."

She leaned up and pressed a kiss to his cheek. "Well, by the thousands of fan letters we get and the way those kids line up in hopes of getting a picture or an autograph, I'd say you'll have plenty of little boys watching you on television, dreaming that exact same dream."

Derek brought Jase up to give him a soft kiss on the head before placing him on his shoulder. "I just want to make everyone proud."

"Everyone is proud. There was practically a national celebration when it was announced that you'd play."

"I know, and with that comes added pressure. I told you that day in our room when we were discussing coming over here, I'm just one player and I think they expect me to be their savior."

"Well you know," she said as she turned into him, wrapping her arms around him, "you're pretty good at that whole savior thing. I know you've saved me more than once."

He leaned down and kissed the top of her head. "Well every damsel in distress deserves to be saved. I'm just glad that somehow I beat everyone else to the punch. I mean how many guys get to sleep with one of People magazine's most beautiful people."

"Yah, yah, says their 'Sexiest Man of the Year'."

"But I wasn't the sexiest until after we got married. I think it was the allure of me being taken that finally did it. Besides we've been hottest couple twice."

"Yeah, but I think I just get thrown in there, kind of a guilty by association thing. It could have been anyone with you and they still would have crowned you hottest couple."

"Ooh, I like the royalty angle, crowned us," he said as he arched one eyebrow and gave her his trademark smirk. "And that's a bunch of bull and you know it. You," he said as he pulled her in tighter, "are absolutely perfect. You're the complete package and do you know what the absolute sexiest thing is about you?"

She looked up into his eyes adoringly and shook her head no.

He leaned down and whispered in her ear so that only she would hear, "The absolute sexiest thing about you is that you're just as beautiful on the inside as you are on the outside. And that," he said as he playfully tugged on her ear with his teeth, "is enough to drive any man insane."

She shivered with delight at the words he spoke. Not so much because of how flattering they were, but because of the sincerity of them. They definitely had a mutual admiration society going between them. They adored each other and it was evident to anyone who looked on.

They were so lost in each other that they had forgotten they were standing in a very public place in full view of everyone. But they were jolted back into reality as the flash of a bulb was seen just as Derek was pulling away from her. The photographer had definitely gotten a money shot, catching an intimate moment between the two meant big money.

They were brought back into reality quickly and they both moved to put their sunglasses on. Derek was very mindful to throw a blanket over Jase so that he wouldn't be visible to the camera or any onlookers for that matter. They knew the public was dying for a glimpse of him but they weren't ready yet. This baby was their life and they were going to protect him at all costs, for as long as they could.

Derek grabbed her hand and they started for the front door. A limo was supposed to be waiting for them and their luggage was to be sent directly to the hotel. Sighing he turned to her and said, "Well, life's back to normal."

"Normal?" she asked as she looked at him questioningly.

"Well normal for us at least," he grinned.

* * *


	16. Chapter 16

**I'm asking for creative licensing for this Russia story. I've done a little research on this but I'm not saying I'll be one hundred percent correct on anything. So, just go with it please!**

* * *

They pulled up at the orphanage and Casey held her breath. She was glad to see that it was a nice building with a fence surrounding it and a well equipped playground resting beside it. She really didn't know what she had expected but she was pleasantly surprised.

The driver rolled down the privacy window and in broken English said, "I will wait for you here."

Casey thanked him and looking at Derek she took a deep breath.

"Are you ready?" he asked her.

She nodded and Derek opened the limo door, getting out he then held out his hand for her to exit. Casey had argued with him until she was blue in the face, but he had insisted on coming with her. She was worried that his coach would be upset but of course Derek could have cared less.

It still shocked her sometimes to see the old Derek rear his smarmy head. He wasn't above throwing his weight and position around to get what he wanted. And he was well aware that the coach would never do anything to jeopardize his position on the team.

Derek was Canada's darling and he wasn't above using it to get what he wanted. And at the moment, what he wanted more than anything was to make sure that Casey wasn't overwhelmed by what she was about to see.

Nora and George had been more than happy to keep Jase and were looking forward to some site seeing. Derek had been leery to let them take him out but Casey had insisted that it was fine. She loved Derek's protective nature but sometimes even she was smothered a bit by it.

She had brought no camera crew with her. They would be coming later. Right now she just wanted to get a tour of the orphanage and speak with the director, getting her take on what she wanted to get across in this story.

They walked up the steps, hand in hand and rang the door bell, waiting for someone to answer. They were greeted by a very tall older woman with her hair pulled tightly back in a bun. Casey was caught off guard by the shear presence of the woman but was quickly relieved to see a smile on her face that clearly reached to her eyes. "Would you come in please," she asked.

They walked through the door and the woman led them down a hallway and into what they assumed was her office. She held her hand out toward two chairs and Derek and Casey sat down. Moving behind a well kept desk she seated herself and addressed them.

"My name is Anna Rulin and I'm the director of the orphanage here in Sochi."

Casey held out her hand and smiled at the woman. "I'm Casey Venturi and this is my husband Derek."

"Ah," she said smiling, "the Canadian hockey god."

Casey looked over at Derek and almost laughed as she saw his face turn several shades of red. Smiling at the woman he reached out his hand to greet her and grinning he said, "You can just call me Derek."

Smiling back she nodded her head. "I wish you luck this week, just not enough to beat our national team."

Casey smiled as she thought it funny that Derek seemed almost at a loss for words with this woman.

Finally he managed to say, "Thank you," and then slunk back in his chair.

Mrs. Rulin turned back to Casey. "I understand you want to do a piece on our orphanage and how things are handled."

"Yes I would Mrs. Rulin. CNN is very interested in the wonderful work you do and we'd like to let others know how many children are waiting here for families."

"Please call me Anna. Do you mind if I tell you a few things before we go for a tour of the facility."

"By all means, please do. I'm here for anything you feel is important for me to know."

"Russia has made great strides since becoming a democracy but still unless you're one of Russia's billionaires you're likely to have little financial security and few opportunities. One third of the population is below the poverty level. Income inequity is grossly disproportionate."

Casey nodded her head, listening intently.

"Having children is simply too expensive for many Russians and it's estimated that for every ten live births, thirteen are terminated."

Casey had to keep herself from gasping out loud. She almost felt ashamed at the good fortune that she and Derek shared. And the thought of lack of money being a reason to abort a baby made her physically ill.

"The adoption of Russian children by Americans and Canadians is growing by leaps and bounds. But still there are so many children left here waiting. We have wonderful care givers but it's not the same as if they had their own families. We are delighted that you are here to bring more attention to this situation. Now would you like a tour?"

Casey gave a genuine smile to the woman. "We'd love one."

"If you'll wait here for a moment I'll go tell everyone you're coming and then I'll be right back."

"Take your time, we're in no hurry."

Mrs. Rulin got up from behind her desk and walked out the door, closing it behind her.

Casey immediately turned to Derek. Placing her hand on his she asked, "Did you hear what she said? Can you believe people have to abort their babies because they don't have enough money to raise them?"

Derek took a deep breath. This was exactly what he was afraid of. He knew how personally Casey would take this and he knew it would only get worse once she actually saw the children.

"Case, unfortunately that happens in other places besides Russia. Poverty is a horrible thing. That's why we give so much to so many children's charities."

"I know Derek, but for every ten live births, thirteen are terminated. That seems unreal. We really are sheltered. It almost makes me ashamed to think of how we live."

Derek squeezed her hand. "Casey, come on, don't think like that. We've been blessed and with that blessing we bless others in return. You shouldn't feel guilty."

"I know, it's just that I think about Jase and the fact that he'll never want for anything. His college money is already set aside, I'm sure he'll drive an insanely expensive sports car when he gets old enough, if you have anything to say about it. He'll go to the best schools and have the best life has to offer. And all the while children are living in places like this all over the world."

"And you're trying to do something about it. I told you I wasn't sure this was a good idea. It's good to become emotionally involved in a story but I'm worried about you Casey. I'm not above calling your producer and telling her to scrap this whole thing if I think it's going to be too much for you."

"You'll do no such thing. I don't go around calling your coach telling him I think you need to do this or that. This is _my_ job Derek and I can handle it just fine thank you."

"Baby, I didn't mean to sound so harsh. But I can't help but worry about you. I saw the look in your eyes the minute she started talking and I know this is going to affect you deeply. I just don't want to see you hurt. You know I can't stand it when you're hurting."

"I know and I'm sorry for getting so snippy with you. But this is important Derek. And sometimes we have to do things even when it hurts."

Just then they were interrupted by Anna coming back in the door. "We're ready if you are."

Casey smiled warmly at the woman and stood up, her hand still firmly placed in Derek's.

"Let's go."

They were first led to a large room that Casey thought must be a game room. There were shelves with a few books and some toys that Casey could tell were old but still well kept. But the room was very sparse and she immediately knew that they lacked a lot of things that children should be enjoying at that age.

"This is the rec room. As you can tell we don't have much in here but it's well kept and the children enjoy it. We are exceptionally proud of the playground equipment outside. It was a gift from a couple who adopted a little boy from here last year. It has been an absolute godsend."

She led them out and down a hall way. As they left the room Casey leaned over to Derek and whispered, "I'm warning you now, don't have a heart attack when you open up the credit card bill next month, because I'm going shopping and I'm going to do a lot of it. These kids deserve so much more than this."

Derek just shook his head but didn't tell her that he had already planned on doing the same thing.

There were doors on every side of them as they walked down the hallway and as they peered inside each room they could see there were eight beds in each. Anna told them that the children were in class at the moment so that was the reason for there emptiness. But Casey had a hard time not visualizing all those little ones living in such a sterile environment. She knew that they were well taken care of, but couldn't help but wonder how a child could truly bloom in this situation.

Casey was brought out of her thoughts as Anna stopped in front of a door. "This is our nursery. Since these children aren't school age they stay here all day. Would you like to go in?"

Derek closed his eyes, knowing immediately what Casey's response would be and he wanted to shout out no before she could say yes. He knew she thought she was strong enough to handle this but he knew differently. And if he were honest with himself he knew he wasn't strong enough yet either. But that fact didn't matter because they were already being led into the room.

Looking around Derek saw cribs lining the walls. Some babies were out in the middle of the floor crawling around while others stood in their cribs or lay. He looked over and saw Casey's beautiful eyes wide open with shock. There were three women in the room and he knew what Casey was thinking. How could these women give this many babies and toddlers the nurturing they needed.

Casey walked around, almost as if in a trance, going from crib to crib in amazement. Derek stood back and intently watched her, looking for any sign that he needed to get her out of there. He watched as she stopped in the back corner. He moved a little closer so that he could see what she was looking at. In the crib was a little girl who appeared to be about Jase's age. She was squirming around and Derek could tell that she was starting to get very fussy.

Casey instinctively reached out and picked up the child and she immediately stilled. Casey held her out from her and Derek peered over and was shocked to see that the baby in front of them had almost the exact same eye color as Casey.

Anna walked up to them. "I see you've met Kristen. She was born prematurely and left by her mother in the hospital. So many can't afford health care and the mother didn't want to be bothered with the cost of her care. She just recently was released from the hospital and brought to us."

Casey half nodded as to show that she was listening but Derek watched as Casey's eyes never left Kristen's.

"Mrs. Venturi, that's about everything I can think to cover. Are you ready to leave?"

Casey just stood there as if not hearing her and finally Derek gently took hold of her shoulders. "Case, Anna wants to know if you're ready to leave."

She finally acknowledged them and turned to walk towards the door.

"Mrs. Venturi," Anna said as Casey began to walk away, "Mrs. Venturi?"

Casey turned to look at her, "What?"

"Kristen. You've still got Kristen in your arms."

Casey looked down and realized what she was doing. Trying to put a brave smile on her face she apologized. "I'm so sorry; I don't know where my head is."

But Derek knew, he knew exactly where her head was and it made him sick with worry.

* * *


	17. Chapter 17

* * *

There was silence as they walked back to the limo. Derek had his arm protectively wrapped around Casey; as she walked along very quietly, clearly lost in her own little world.

Still not a word was spoken as they got back into the limo and Derek was startled by the ringing of his phone. He looked over at Casey to see that she was barely acknowledging the silence breaking sound.

Looking down he noticed it was his dad. "Hey, Dad. Is everything okay with Jase?"

Derek's words finally brought Casey out of her trance like state and he could see the alarm in her eyes.

"Okay, okay, that sounds great. I think we'll take you up on the offer."

He was silent for a few more seconds before he responded, "Thanks a lot. We really appreciate it. Give Jase a kiss and we'll talk to you later."

He flipped his phone closed and turned to Casey. Moving closer he gathered her in his arms pulling her tightly to him.

"That was Dad and he and your mom are having a wonderful time with Jase. They said that they're about to take a tour that has supper included in the fee. It'll be really late when they get back in and they thought that they'd just watch Jase tonight and let us have some time alone."

He instantly saw doubt cross her face. "I don't know Derek. Jase has never been away from me. In fact, this is the longest he's ever been away from me at all. He might think I've abandoned him."

Derek couldn't help but let out a little laugh as he kissed the top of her head. "Casey, he's three months old. I really don't think he realizes that you're not there."

It didn't take long for Derek to realize that he should have thought about his response a little closer.

Casey whipped around in her seat to face him. "I'll have you know that my son knows exactly who I am. That when he hears my voice he turns to look for me. He loves me and knows when I'm not around."

Derek knew that he had started what could have been a wonderful time for them off poorly and he only hoped he could save it somehow.

"Casey, I didn't mean it the way it came out. I know Jase knows who you are. I know that he loves you very much. But I love you too and we haven't had an opportunity to be alone, without the possibility of interruption, since the accident. I just thought that it would be nice to have some us time. That's all I meant by it, I promise."

Casey didn't look so certain. "I don't want him away from me like that. What if something happened to him? I'd never forgive myself if something happened to him and I wasn't there."

"Casey, nothing's going to happen to him. Our parents have raised five kids, from infancy through adolescence. I think they can handle one tiny baby for one night. Besides, their room's right across the hall from ours. It's not like we're a continent away."

Derek could still see the doubt in her eyes. He pulled her close once again and smoothed her hair as he rested his chin on her head. "What's this really about Casey? Talk to me so I can help you."

"I don't know, but it's like I get this huge case of anxiety when I think about him being away from me. I'm his mom and he depends on me. What if something happens and I'm not there. He won't understand."

"Case, I'm going to tell you what a very wise woman named Nora once told me. At the time I hated the fact that I was away from the both of you but I'm going to paraphrase it so that it fits your situation. She said, 'I know how much you love him and how much you want to protect him. But there's only so much you can do. Things happen in life. And sometimes they're horrible but you can't protect him from everything'. He's a little boy and we can't smother him."

"But..."

"No buts. I'm going to wine and dine you and hopefully do a few other things to you and then in the morning we'll go over and get our son. I can't believe that tomorrow I'll be..." and then he stopped without saying another word.

"You'll be what?"

"Nothing."

"No, that was definitely not 'nothing'. Tell all, Mister. Remember, I hold the key to your evening in my hands. I can call Mom right now and tell her..."

"Okay, I know, you hold all the power. You always have."

Casey rolled her eyes at the remark.

"Anyway, it was really nothing. I was going to just say that I'll be participating in the opening ceremonies of the Olympics, walking with my fellow countrymen and all that jazz."

Countrypersons, Derek."

It was Derek's turn to roll his eyes. "Of course Case, countrypersons, how could I forget my political correctness after all your years of brain washing, I mean, enlightenment."

"Nice save Derek. And it might have just saved your plans too."

He pulled her even closer and whispered in her ear. "Oh I definitely have a lot of plans when it comes to you."

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Their evening was more than Casey could have hoped for. Of course Derek had spared no expense and everything had been amazing to that point. They were now walking back down the hall to their room and Derek was being his usual overprotective self.

"Case you look really tired. I hope we didn't over do it," he said as he opened the door. "Why don't you go change and get some..." but he was stopped by the look in her eyes.

Casey started to nibble on his earlobe and he was nearly a goner right then and there. His lips sought hers blindly as he ran his hands up and down her back then through the thick, curly tresses of her hair.

She started a trail of soft, warm kisses from his jaw down to his neck and then began to suck and lightly lick at the sensitive skin under his ear. A shiver and jolt shot through him when she nipped at it gently, causing a moan to escape his mouth as he leaned his head back to give her better access. After a few minutes he took a turn and kissed his way down the column of her neck and across her collarbone. She met his lips eagerly and grabbed his tie, pulling him with her as she backed through the living area and towards the bedroom.

When they entered, Casey kissed him fiercely and then moved her hands up, pushing his jacket off his shoulders and letting it drop to the floor. Next, she removed his tie and moved her hands to the top of his shirt, undoing the buttons down the front. That was slid off too and discarded as she moved her hands over his chest through the white undershirt he wore. He put one hand behind her neck and tilted her head up to press his lips against hers. Her hands moved under his shirt and pulled it over his head, tossing it carelessly aside. He lightly grazed her shoulders with his lips, pushing the thin straps of her dress down her arms as her fingers entwined themselves in his unruly hair, threading them through it. She lightly pushed her tongue against his lips and he moaned loudly when her tongue touched his. He let out a disappointed groan when she pulled away, only to sit on the bed and begin taking her shoes off. He followed suit and soon they were standing again.

He stepped behind her and slowly started to unzip her dress as he continued to suck at her collarbone and she moaned loudly when she felt his warm hands on her bare back, softly caressing her skin. He slid his arms inside the dress, wrapping his arms around her body then rubbing his hands over her toned abdomen, the sides of her body, then cupped her breasts through the strapless bra she was wearing underneath. She gasped at his touching her there and the sensual feeling that passed through her as she leaned her head back to rest it in the crook of his neck. She lifted her arms above her head and placed them behind his head, bringing his lips to hers in another mind blowing kiss. "Mmm, Case, you're so amazing…" Derek murmured against her mouth. They parted long enough so that he could help slide her out of her dress before he captured her lips once again and ran his hands along her body, memorizing every curve of it.

Slowly he brought her down to the bed thinking the whole time, God how I loved this woman.

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Derek was woken later by the sounds of quiet sobbing and looked over to see Casey's shoulders moving up and down as she cried.

He moved to turn her and brushed the hair from her face. "Baby what's wrong?" He asked.

She just shook her head and buried her face deep within his chest.

He held her for what seemed like an eternity before he gently asked again, "What's wrong."

Pulling back she whispered, "I want my baby."

Derek smiled at her and then looked over at the clock. "Casey, it's five in the morning. Let them sleep a few more hours and then we'll go over and get him."

Casey began to shake her head no. "I want my little girl. Derek every night, I dream about our babies, both of them. There's always Jase's face but there's another one. And yesterday, when I held that baby in the orphanage it was like I was dreaming all over again. Those eyes, Derek, I'll never forget them. Kristen's eyes are the ones I see in my dream every night."

Derek pulled her close and closed his eyes. He'd had the same feeling as she'd had. When he had looked over Casey's shoulder and looked at Kristen he had been so struck by her eyes and how they had looked so much like Casey's.

Choosing his words carefully, he began, "Casey, Kristen isn't Brooke. You can't just replace one baby with another."

"I know that no one can replace Brooke, but maybe Kristen is meant to be with us. She needs someone, someone to love her and take care of her. And who in the world could give her a better life than us?"

"Don't you think this is all pretty sudden? It's only been three months since the accident. We've already got one baby to take care of."

"But we were going to be taking care of two anyway. Please just think about it. I can't get her off of my mind and when I dreamed that dream tonight, I realized that I've been dreaming about her for months. Derek, what if this is destiny. What if she's meant for us?"

"I'll think about it, I promise. Now close your eyes and try and get some sleep. We have a really big day ahead of us."

Casey snuggled in closer to him and closed her eyes, but sleep wouldn't come to him. He was truly at a loss for what to do or say. How in the world do you handle something like this, knowing what it means to your life and to the person you love more than anyone else in the world. The longer he laid there the more he realized one thing; he had no idea where they went from this point.

* * *


	18. Chapter 18

* * *

Derek looked over at the clock and saw that it read seven o'clock. He had laid there for the last two hours trying to go back to sleep but no matter how hard he tried it was no use. Casey's words kept playing over and over again in his mind.

He gently pulled away from her so that she wouldn't wake up and headed across the hall to their parents' room. He knocked on the door and bleary eyed George answered.

"Hey Son, I thought you'd still be in bed trying to rest up for your big day."

"I've been awake since five this morning. I just couldn't go back to sleep and I was afraid I'd wake Casey up. She had a pretty rough night."

"What's wrong?"

"We'll talk about it later. Right now, I want to see my son."

"Nora actually just fed him and put him back down to sleep about thirty minutes ago. We were just about to sit down and have some coffee. Want to join us?"

"Yeah, just let me go peek in on him."

He walked through the living area and into their bedroom, where Jase's crib also was. He felt his stomach do a little flip flop as he looked down at his son. He was overcome by the overwhelming need to hold his son. Picking him up, he held him tightly to his chest as he placed a kiss on the top of his head. He breathed in the scent of his baby smell and a calmness washed over him.

Walking back into the living area he saw Nora and George seated at the small table drinking their coffee.

Nora looked up and smiled at the sight of Derek and a very alert looking Jase. "You know, I can tell you're a first time parent. You'll learn to leave them alone and let them sleep."

Derek was immediately put on edge. "Last time I checked Nora, there wasn't a them, only him. And maybe really fortunate people, who never had to sit in a waiting room for hours wondering if they'd ever even get to hold him or his mother again, would let a baby sleep. But since I don't fall under that category, I think I'll pick my son up anytime I want too."

Nora was startled by Derek's sudden outburst and George immediately started to scold. "Derek, I don't think that's what Nora meant. What she was trying to say was..."

"No George, that's okay. He's Derek's son and he can pick him up anytime he wants too. I'm sorry Derek; sometimes it's still hard to remember that you and Casey are all grown up. Sometimes parenting is a hard thing to quit."

Derek walked over and gave Nora a hug. "I'm really sorry Nora and I want you to know that I'll never be old enough to not need you and Dad to help keep me in line. I'm sure Casey can use all the help she can get from you in that department."

Derek moved back away from Nora and took a seat. "It's just that yesterday was really crazy and it didn't get any less crazy through the night."

George sat down in the chair opposite of Derek and asked, "Would you like to talk about it?"

Derek held Jase close to him with one hand as he used the other one to run through his hair. "Well, you know that we went to the orphanage."

George shook his head in agreement and nodded his head as if urging Derek to continue.

"Well when we got there we met Anna, who's the director, and she took us to the office and told us a few statistics and then she took us for a tour of the facility. We went to the game room, if that's what you could call it, and we were blown away with how little these children had. Casey's going shopping today to buy some things."

Nora raised her eyebrow, "A few things?"

Derek grinned, "Actually I think her remark went something like this, 'Don't have a heart attack when you get the credit card bill next month'."

Nora smiled back. "Well that's our Casey, generous to a fault."

George could tell that Derek wasn't nearly through with the story, so he interrupted to try and get the story back on task. "What else did you do?"

"Anna took us on a tour of where the children live. All the older kids were in school but she took us to the nursery and of course Casey wanted to go in. Guys, there were beds and babies everywhere and they only had three women in there to watch all of them. Some of them where in the floor, but just as many of them were just laying there in cribs."

He stopped as if it was a very painful memory his was reliving. "Casey just got this look in her eyes, all glazed over like she was in a trance. She just started walking down that line of cribs and stopped at one in the back corner. There was a little girl in there about Jase's age. She was starting to get really fussy and Casey just picked her up and she immediately was quiet."

George and Nora could hear the emotion in Derek's voice and it pained them to see him getting so upset. "I was so scared for her so I walked over to where she was and looked over her shoulder. When I did I swear Casey's eyes were staring back at me. Anna told us our tour was over and Casey started walking toward the door with Kristen still in her arms. Anna had to remind her that she hadn't put her down."

"Do you think she was taken back to not being able to hold Brooke?" Nora asked.

"I really thought that was it. But about five this morning I woke up and heard Casey sobbing into her pillow. I asked her what was wrong and she told me she wanted her baby. I just thought she was missing Jase but that wasn't it. She told me every night she dreams about two babies. She said she dreams about Jase but she also dreams about a little girl and she said the little girl in her dreams is Kristen."

Nora gasped. "My poor baby, I can't imagine how hard this is on her. What else did she say?"

"She wants us to adopt Kristen. I told her that you just can't replace Brooke but she swears that's not what she's trying to do. She thinks this was destiny. That Kristen was meant for us."

"And what do you think, Son?"

Derek shook his head at his dad. "Honestly, I have no idea. I know it's totally different for me because I held Brooke and got some closure that Casey will never know, but Dad I swear, when I looked into Kristen's eyes it was just like looking into Casey's. What if she's right, what if she is meant for us?"

"Maybe you should go back to the orphanage and talk to this Anna lady. Tell her what's on Casey's mind. Do you remember Joe Thompson from my firm?"

"I vaguely know who you're talking about."

"Well he and his wife adopted a little boy from Russia last year. I could get in contact with him if you want me too."

"Why don't you do that and I think I'll try to go back and talk to Anna today. I don't have to meet up with the other athletes until five this afternoon."

"Does Casey know about tonight yet," Nora asked smiling once again.

"Nope, she has no idea. I almost let it slip yesterday but I think she bought my cover. I want it to be a surprise."

Just then they heard a knock on the door and Derek moved to go open it. "I'm sure this is Casey wondering why she's missing the party."

Sure enough when he opened the door there stood Casey with her hands on her hips. "So you get your way with me and then just leave me high and dry," she asked smiling the whole time.

"Well you know what a player I am."

She leaned forward and placed a kiss on his lips. "Now hand over that baby."

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Derek walked back up the steps of the orphanage and rang the door bell. A few moments later he was greeted by Anna. "Well Mr. Venturi, to what do we owe this visit?"

"Please call me Derek," he said as he walked through the door. "I wanted to talk about a few things with you. Do you mind if we go to your office?"

She looked at him questioningly but started down the hall toward her office.

Once they were seated Derek wasted no time in getting to the point. "I don't know if you're really aware what my wife and I have been through in the last few months..."

Anna immediately interrupted. "I'm quite aware of the tragedy that befell you and your wife a few months ago. Even in Russia you are well known and also, I did some research on you and your wife before I agreed to let her do a story about our work here. What does the accident have to do with your coming here today?"

"Well if you know about the accident then you must also be aware of the fact that our daughter didn't survive the crash. It has been very trying to say the least. And in order to save Casey's life they had to do a hysterectomy so we won't be able to have anymore children biologically."

Anna began shaking her head in understanding. "I don't think I'd be too far off in saying that this story is leading to Kristen, is it not?"

"Yes it is. Casey can't get that little girl out of her head and to be honest with you, neither can I."

"And you're wondering about adoption then?"

"Yes, I just want to know what we could expect if we decided to do something like that. But first I want to know if it's even an option to adopt Kristen."

"In Russia, we don't allow babies to be adopted until they're at least six months old and it's quite a grueling and expensive process."

"Well, I can assure you that the expense is no problem, but I don't want to be allowed to adopt Kristen because we're famous or rich, I want her because no one can love her like we would. Do you think this is something that could be possible?"

"I do. As I said, I've done my research on the two of you in getting ready for this story. I know what champions you are of children's causes."

"Speaking of that," Derek said a little sheepishly, "Casey's out shopping for the game room right now. And before you think that it's some sort of bribe, she has no idea I'm hear talking to you about this. When we walked out of that room yesterday, she told me what she wanted to do, and I couldn't have agreed more."

Anna smiled at Derek, "Thank you so much Mr. Ven...I mean Derek. You can't imagine what this will mean to the children."

"It's our pleasure really."

They sat there for a moment in silence before Derek finally spoke again. "Do you think it would be possible for me to go see Kristen again? I'd really like to hold her."

"Why don't I go get her and bring her in here? That way you won't interrupt the others."

Derek nodded his head in agreement and waited patiently until Anna walked back through the door holding Kristen. He stood up and carefully took the baby. Immediately he knew what Casey had felt yesterday holding her. It was positively overwhelming, especially as he looked down into eyes that were so familiar. If he wasn't sure before, he was positive now. Looking up he told Anna, "Whatever it takes I want this baby. I want her to be apart of our family."

* * *


	19. Chapter 19

* * *

Derek had felt like he was on cloud nine when he had walked out of the orphanage. After the darkness that had seemed to envelop them during the last few months he couldn't help but smile at the ray of light he could see starting to make its way through.

After calling Casey's producer and telling her what was going on they had both agreed that if Casey wasn't opposed to it, they would make this story about their struggle through the accident and hopefully end it with bringing Kristen home with them in a few months.

If he was honest with himself, he really wasn't sure how Casey would be with sharing with the whole world everything that had happened and everything that they had been through. But it was something that he really wanted. He knew that it would get the tabloids and all their speculation off their backs but more than that, it would give them a sense of closure that they so desperately needed.

He knew there had to be others out there who had gone through something similar to what they were dealing with now, and if he could give them some hope then maybe something good could come from this horrible ordeal.

He flipped his phone opened and dialed Casey's number. It rang four times before she finally answered and when she said hello he could tell she was totally out of breath.

"Did I catch you running a marathon? You sound really out of breath."

"No, that's actually just the sound of me trying to dodge photographers as I spend our money like its water. I brought my mom with me and I hate to break the news to you but we're having way too much fun doing this."

"Don't worry about it. I'll just have to sell my body on another product to pay for it."

"Don't make it sound like you're a prostitute. I know you all too well, and the sick thrill you get out of people ogling you in ads is something you'll never get tired of."

"Hey, there's only one person I like ogling me and I'm talking to her right now. In fact, I think I got to enjoy a little of that last night, how about a repeat performance?"

"Don't flatter yourself mister and besides you've got a huge day ahead of you. I can't believe I'm going to get to watch my husband walk in the opening ceremonies of the Olympics. Even after everything you've accomplished it just seems surreal that we're here."

"I know what you mean. That's one of the reasons I called. Do you know where you'll be at tonight for sure?"

"I talked to CNN and because you're actually participating tonight, they're going to give me press credentials for Mom and George too. That way we'll have great seats and we'll be able to get to you after it's over. By the way, where are you? You didn't ever really tell me where you were going when you left this morning."

"I just wanted to go out and gather my thoughts, you know, get some things straight in my head. It's about time to get my game face on so I thought I try to get my mind in the right place. I'm about to head over to the Olympic village to join the team but I'll see you tonight, right?"

"You can count on it. And Derek, I'm sorry about last night. I had a wonderful time and I hate that I ruined it."

"Hey, you didn't ruin a thing. I'm just sorry that you've been keeping the dreams from me. Casey you know that my number one priority is making sure you and Jase are happy and safe. How can I do that if you don't talk to me?"

"It's not that I was trying to keep it from you but I had already laid so much on you by having you keep playing and I was afraid it would all be too much. I was afraid you'd quit because you wouldn't think I could handle things on my own. I don't want you worrying about me all the time."

"Like that's ever going to happen. I'll worry about you every day for the rest of our lives. That's just who I am."

"Well try not to worry about me today. I want you to enjoy this. It's truly a once in a lifetime experience."

"I'll do my best. You be careful and spend away. I'll see you tonight."

"Okay. I love you, Derek."

"Love you too, Case. Bye."

Flipping his phone closed he took in a deep breath, held it for a moment and then released it. Was life really this good, he wondered to himself? How in the world did he ever get this blessed?

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Casey and the rest of the family were positioned in the arena and waiting for any sign that the Canadian team was walking in. Casey could barely stand still; she was so excited and proud of Derek, not only for making the team, but for putting aside his problems and coming to Russia. She knew fully well that what he would have enjoyed more was staying at home with her and Jase.

It still amazed her at times that someone as self-centered and self-absorbed as Derek was when she met him, could now be the most giving and selfless person in the world. He attributed it to her, but she knew better. Derek had deep down always had a heart of gold and the compassion he held knew no bounds.

Soon the moment they had been waiting for came as the announcer proclaimed, "Now entering in through the north entrance of the stadium is Team Canada with their country's flag being carried by hockey forward Derek Venturi. Derek was chosen by his fellow athletes for his commitment to his country even through a time of personal crisis."

Casey immediately began sobbing as she clutched Jase closely to her. She literally felt as if her heart was going to burst with pride. After everything he had sacrificed, to be rewarded with such an honor, it was a testament to who he really was. Everyone knew Derek Venturi the hockey god but few were privileged enough to know Derek Venturi the man.

George stood beside Casey and put his arm around her as she laid her head on his shoulder. Leaning down, he whispered, "He wanted to surprise you."

Casey was speechless but managed to shake her head in acknowledgment.

Everything after that was a whirlwind and suddenly before they knew it, it was over. Using their press credentials they made their way to where the Canadian team was being prepared to be interviewed by the media. Of course, the majority of the news crews were putting there microphones in the vicinity of Derek and Casey struggled to get through the crowd to him.

She could see him looking for her and saw his eyes light up when he spotted her. He moved through the crowd until he reached her and Jase and pulled them in tightly to him.

"Derek, I'm so proud of you. I can't believe you just carried the flag, I mean, this is a moment that will be preserved in history."

Derek smiled down at her. "Yeah, I guess it is a pretty big deal. I'm just glad I could surprise you with it," he said as he helped her make their way up to the podium where he would be speaking. She moved to stand to the side but he held firm to her. "Not so fast Sweetie. I want you and Jase beside me when I do this."

Casey started to shake her head no. "They don't want to see me. This is your time Derek. Jase and I will just wait to the side and when you're through we can go."

Derek still didn't turn loose. "Sorry, no can do. You're standing with me. You're the reason I'm here and I want you and Jase standing beside me. I want the world to see that we're surviving and we're stronger than ever."

Casey didn't have time to respond as the lights on the cameras turned on and the press conference started.

"Mr. Venturi, what did it mean for you to carry the flag of your country in the opening ceremonies?"

Derek cleared his throat but never removed his arm from Casey, pulling her even closer for reassurance. "It was an honor and it actually came as quite a shock. I don't know if anyone ever feels worthy of such and honor but I can say that I was in awe of being chosen to do so."

There was much talking and through it all, they heard another reporter ask. "You live a very high profile life as does your wife. We know that you recently experienced a devastating tragedy in your personal lives several months back, but yet a month later you were back on the ice for the Rangers and now you're here in Russia. How could you bounce back so quickly?"

Derek could feel Casey hold on to him for support and he reached over and took Jase from her. "My wife and I experienced something that I hope no one else ever has to go through. But when we got married we said 'for better for worse and in sickness and in health', and we took those vows very seriously. It was very important to us to have some sense of normalcy back in our lives and Casey felt like the best way to do that was for me to continue playing. She's the reason I returned to the NHL this season and she's the reason I'm standing here today."

"How has your time been here Mr. Venturi? Are you glad you came?"

Derek placed Jase on his shoulder and moved his arm back around Casey pulling her tightly to him. "I'm very happy we came. I was able to bring my parents with us and this is something that's a once in a lifetime experience. I dreamed of this as a little boy and now that dream has become a reality. We've had a wonderful experience here so far, and I can already tell that it's going to be one of those life changing moments that will help define the rest of our lives."

"What do you think your teams chances are for bringing home the gold?"

"I'd say excellent. We've assembled a first class team and our coaching is also top notch. I believe that we'll be very competitive in the games. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a very tired baby I need to get home. But on behalf of my family, I'd like to thank you for all the heart felt wishes and prayers that have been sent our way."

And then moving to grab Casey's hand he led her off the stage.

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They had gone to supper with their parents and then returned to their suite. Jase hadn't lasted through dinner and was still asleep as Casey placed him in his crib. Derek had taken a seat in a large chair that was in their bedroom and he motioned for Casey to sit on his lap.

Once she was situated he pulled he tightly to him and she rested her head on his shoulder. They sat that way for a while, just enjoying the feel of being with one another.

Finally she lifted her head from him and looked him in the eyes. "Why did you talk to the press like that? We've never spoken publicly about the accident before."

He leaned in and rested his forehead on hers, closing his eyes for a moment before responding. "Are you upset that I talked about it?"

"No, it's just that it surprised me that you'd choose and international stage to speak of it."

"Casey, anytime I do anything it goes out to an international stage. People all over the world know who we are. I just think it's time to address it and hopefully move on. That doesn't mean I'll ever forget what happened or what we lost but I've gained a new sense of hope from being over here."

She smiled at his response. "Really, what caused this sudden resurgence of hope? What did you mean when you said that this was a life changing moment that would help define our lives from now on?"

"A lot of things I guess, but what really brought it home was my trip to the orphanage."

"It was pretty overwhelming yesterday, wasn't it?"

"Yes it was, but I'm not talking about our trip yesterday. I'm talking about my trip today."

Casey pulled back from him even further and looked at him as if trying to read his expression. "You went back today? Why?"

"I guess something a little birdie said to me really got me thinking and I had to go see for myself. I went to talk to Anna and I wanted to see Kristen again."

Casey tried to keep the expression on her face even and the ball of hope that for forming in her down, but she couldn't help but smile. "You went back to see Kristen?"

"Yes."

Casey kept telling herself don't get your hopes up. He could be leading this somewhere else, but finally she couldn't hold it in any longer. "What did you want to talk to Anna about?"

Derek stopped for a moment and pulled Casey tightly to him once more. He ran his fingers through her curly locks and pressed a kiss on the top of her head. "I wanted to see if there was a possibility that we could adopt Kristen."

Casey pulled back from Derek and he had to grin when he saw a smile on her face so bright that it would have shamed even the sun. "What did she say," she asked with a sparkle in her eyes that had been missing for months.

"She said that if we want her, she's ours. Now I told her I might have to do a lot of persuading to get you to do this, but…"

She slapped his chest playfully and then threw her arms around him tightly. "You did no such thing." Then pulling back, she looked him in the eyes, "So she's really ours?"

"She's really ours. Or at least she will be several months and several thousands of dollars from now. Babies in Russia can't be adopted until they're six months old but we can go ahead and start the process. I've got a lawyer working on our end already and Anna is doing what needs to be done from the orphanage. In about three months we'll be coming back here to bring our daughter home. That is if it's okay with you?"

"It's more than okay."

"There is one more little thing that I might want to let you in on. I called your producer today and told her what we're doing. Case, I want your story to be our story. I want to talk about everything that we've been through and how we got to this point, really make it something that will honor Brooke's memory. I want to let everyone know how blessed I feel everyday that I have you and Jase in my life and I want everyone to know how this whole journey came about. Is that alright with you?"

Casey had tears running down her face by this point and Derek reached up to wipe them away. Finally in a small, broken voice she managed to get out, "I think that's a wonderful idea." And once again she threw her arms around him and they held each other tight.

* * *


	20. Chapter 20

* * *

The last two days had been a whirlwind. When Derek had told Casey it was time to get his game face on he had been dead serious. He had spent the majority of his time in practice or at the Olympic Village with the rest of the team. In fact, that night he had told her not to wait up on him that he would be going over some film with the coaches. Pool play started tomorrow and it was time to get serious.

She was however, surprised when she woke up and looked over and the clock read two in the morning and still there was still no sign of Derek. She knew there was no use trying to go back so sleep until Derek was home so she decided to get up and take a peek at Jase. When she got over to the crib and found no Jase her heart dropped to the pit of her stomach.

She rushed toward the door leading to the living area and was relieved to see Derek holding Jase as he looked out the window onto the city. She had to smile at the sight because it may have been the absolute sweetest thing she'd ever seen.

Hockey had been very good to Derek. Even in high school Derek had been a fine physical specimen but several years with the athletic trainer for the Rangers had left him ripped and cut in all the right places and she felt a shiver go down her spine as she looked at his pajama bottom clad shirtless form. But what made it even better than that was how he had Jase pressed tightly to his chest as he rocked back and forth, kissing his head every few moments.

She was about to walk in and join them when she heard him start to speak. Taking a step back so that he would be sure not to see her, she listened as he spoke.

"Today's a big day, Son," he began. "Daddy's playing in the Olympics and it's a really big deal. I've got a lot of people depending on me to do really good for my team." He paused then and placed another kiss on top of Jase's tiny head.

"I'm going to tell you something, but you have to promise it will be just between us, kind of our own male code."

Casey had to stifle a laugh at Derek's use of the words male code. They had played a prominent role in their past and it was so strange to hear those words come out of his mouth again, especially directed toward their son.

"Everyone thinks I'm some superman when it comes to hockey and that puts a lot of pressure on me. If I don't perform, or even the team doesn't perform, it's going to rest on my shoulders. When I started all those years ago, all I wanted to do was play hockey because I loved it. And now, sometimes it's just not fun anymore."

"You know, I'm looking forward to the day when you can put on your skates and we can go to the rink, just me and you. And I'll teach you everything you need to know and hopefully I'll see the joy in you that I felt when I started playing. But guess what, if you don't want to play, I'll be fine with that too. Who knows, your sister may be the one who likes it."

Casey's heart stopped for a moment at the sound of Derek talking about Kristen.

"You know you're going to get to be a big brother. You'll be a whole ten days older than your sister. I can promise you she'll probably drive you crazy sometimes but you'll love it too. And let me tell you, she's a real looker, just like your mom. So I'm going to need some help keeping the boys away and part of that responsibility is going to have to fall on you."

Casey wished she had a video camera to get this all on tape, but somehow she knew in her mind that she'd never forget this moment. That she would carry it with her always.

"You know your mom will think it's all cute that the boys are calling and coming over and it'll be our job to scare them away, at least for a while. But I'll probably have to do most of it myself because you'll be too caught up in your own world. I can already tell you have that Venturi charm about you, not to mention your mom's blue eyes and that my son, is going to be a very dangerous combination."

"I can't wait to watch you grow up. Mom doesn't know it yet, but I won't be playing hockey much longer. If we win the Stanley Cup this year I may not even go back. I know what it feels like to think I've lost everything, to think that I won't ever get to watch you grow up or to hold your mom again. Those are the important things in life, Jase. I don't want you and your sister being hounded by the media every time we walk out the door. I want to raise you in London, like I was raised."

Jase started to squirm and make noises.

"Do you like the sound of that? You'd be there with Grandma and Grandpa and they'll spoil you and your sister rotten. But this is all just between me and you. Mom doesn't know and I don't want to spring anything on her yet. She's kind of a worrier and I don't want her to worry about anything."

Jase made another noise and Derek took that as affirmation that Jase understood what he was saying.

"I guess we need to get to bed, huh? I don't know what tomorrow will hold, but I do know that whatever happens, it'll be okay because you and your mom will be there."

He started to turn around and walk back toward the bedroom and Casey hurried and jumped back into bed and tried to even out her breathing so he would think she was asleep.

He carefully laid Jase back in his crib and walked over and slipped under the covers. He couldn't help but pull Casey into his arms and softly kiss her forehead. "I love you Baby, sweet dreams."

And as she snuggled closer to him, she drifted off to sleep knowing that sweet dreams would finally come, and they would come because of the man who held her tightly.

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	21. Chapter 21

* * *

Casey woke up and turned over to see Derek laying flat on his back, hands behind his head staring straight up at the ceiling. Scooting over, she snuggled up against him and placed a kiss on his chest. Looking up she saw that he was now looking intently at her.

"What's the matter? Maybe I'm being a little shallow here, but usually when I wake up I get to see those eyes staring at me. So tell me, what's so interesting about that ceiling, I mean, do I need to be worried? Who's pushed me out and now occupying that sexy little head of yours?"

He smiled down at her and laughed. "Well, I wouldn't get too jealous unless you think a big Russian goalie by the name of Aleksi is moving into your territory."

"Oh," she said knowingly as she moved to prop herself up on her elbow. "Don't tell me that my Derek is afraid of some little goalie?"

"Some little goalie, Case," he said looking at her like she'd lost her mind. "That _little _goalie has held every team they've played up until now to a combined score of two. Two goals Casey, the guy has only let two pucks past him."

Casey leaned down and placed a soft kiss on his lips, and then pulling away slightly she told him, "That may be true, but see I know the reason behind it."

Derek raised his eyebrows up at her and asked, "Okay then oh wise one, can you please reveal to me the secret to the mystery?"

She raised her eyebrows right back and gave him a look he knew all too well. A look he had received many times in the last eleven years. "Well, not if you're going to be ugly about it."

Derek had her rolled over and pinned before she knew what happened. He dug his chin into her neck and shoulder blade and she giggled. "Now I suggest you tell me the secret or I will torture you until you comply."

Casey squirmed underneath him, "Okay stop, I promise I'll tell, just stop."

Derek raised his head up and looked at her, her hair all wild, a mixture of a night's worth of sleep and his tickling had caused it to cover part of her face and her breathing was all erratic from trying to defend herself from him. He literally had chills running straight through his body as he thought that she had never looked sexier. He started to lower his head again and he knew she thought he was going into tickle her but instead he began kissing her right below her ear before whispering, "I'm waiting."

He felt her shudder beneath him and a jolt of electricity ran through him, as it had so many times before, knowing that he had the same effect on her that she had on him.

"Well, if you'd stop turning my mind to goo, I'd tell you," she said.

He lifted his head and smirked, "Just one of my many talents. In fact, I can show you some more right now if you want."

"Down boy, today's a big day and we're running late already. We've got to get over to the orphanage by nine if we want to see the furniture and toys delivered and then I believe someone, if I'm not mistaken, is playing in the, what do you call it," she said feigning ignorance. "Oh yes, the uh, gold medal game is it?"

He grinned down at her and shook his head. "Yeah, that's what you call it Case. I'm glad all those years of being around hockey are finally paying off."

"Hey, I told you I knew the secret to Aleksi's success and you still haven't made sure I tell you. So who's the all knowing hockey god around here?"

"You are, all knowing one. Please impart your knowledge so that a mere mortal such as myself may understand."

She reached up and placed her hands on either side of his face. "It's because he hasn't played you yet. You, my gorgeous hubby, are kryptonite to his Super Man. It'll be all over once you hit the ice, I just know it."

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They had made it to the orphanage by nine and had been met by Casey's camera crew. This would be a part of the documentary and Casey was thrilled. Now that she knew Kristen would be theirs she wanted as much documented on film as possible. They had missed the first few months of her life and would miss several more before she was finally theirs, but this would be there forever, showing how this amazing journey all started.

She had found that Anna was just as wonderful and kind as the first time she has met her. She had even arranged to have someone meet them in her office with Kristen. Since they had brought Jase with them it would be the first time that their whole family would be together. Anna had even been kind enough to take a picture of them, and they were thrilled to have a portrait of their new family.

They now were standing in the game room as the children rushed in to see all their new things. As they looked at one another, with Derek holding firmly to Jase as she held on to Kristen just as tightly, they both realized that they had tears in their eyes. Who knew that fifteen thousand dollars, which was really absolutely nothing to them, could make such a difference to so many children?

They were startled by a flash and looked up to see a worker taking pictures. They both thought it rather odd but quickly dismissed it from their thoughts, thinking that they just wanted pictures for the new bulletin board that they had just brought in.

They had made their way back to Anna's office and all too soon, it was time to leave again, and Derek reluctantly handed Kristen back to Anna.

"We'll be back tomorrow to check on all the legal stuff and make sure our lawyer is getting everything in order on our side," Derek told Anna as they walked out of her office.

"That's fine Derek. I wish you good luck, but only enough to lose by one goal and not ten. I believe Aleksi has been waiting for this. The best scorer against the best goalie, it will be quite a match up."

"That is will," Derek agreed. "Thank you for today Anna, for allowing us to spend time with Kristen and for letting us see the children with their new things. It was wonderful."

"My pleasure, we could have never purchased any of those things on our own. We will be forever grateful to both of you."

They exchanged good byes and left, knowing that Derek had to hurry and meet up with the team. He had promised that his not staying in the Village wouldn't hinder his commitment to the team and he intended to not break that promise.

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It was still two hours before game time and Derek had found a secluded area in the arena to sit and think. He always liked to get some quiet time in before a game. He was big into visualization and he always imagined the game playing out in his head, of course with his team winning and him playing great. It was just something he had done since high school and he had to say it had worked pretty well for all these years.

He was startled out of his thoughts by the sound of his phone going off. He expected it to be Casey, calling to wish him good luck, so he had to admit he was surprised to see that it was Rick.

"Hey Rick, you picked a fine time to call; now my visualization is all screwed up. If we lose tonight, the blame goes to you," he joked.

Rick didn't laugh back like Derek expected and he immediately knew something was wrong.

"What's wrong Rick; is everything okay?"

"I'm afraid not D-man. I'm really sorry to call you like this but I really thought you should know."

"Know what?"

"The tabloid shows are going crazy over here. They've got these pictures up and they're telling these crazy half-ass stories."

"Slow down man and start from the beginning. What pictures?"

"There's the one where you left the hospital and you're carrying Jase covered in the carrier and then there's one of you and Casey and Jase when you first got over there. You're holding Jase and have a blanket covering him so that you can't see his face. Then there's one where you're standing at the press conference after the opening ceremonies; you're holding Jase and Casey's standing beside you. And then the last one has the three of you in some big room at an orphanage but you're holding Jase and Casey's holding a little girl they're calling Kristen. They're saying that Casey pitched a fit and is forcing you to adopt her."

Derek began pacing as he listened to Rick's story. "That's a bunch of bull. Casey didn't force anything. She did bring it up but I'm all for it. I can't wait to make Kristen a part of our family."

"D that's not the half of it. They're pulling one of those Brangelina stories where Casey wants nothing to do with Jase. That basically she's said when you get the new baby that Jase is your child and Kristen is hers."

Derek's face was blood red by now and his fists were clinched so tightly that for a moment he wondered if he would break his phone.

"So this is on television?"

"It's not just on television, it's all over television. They're reporting inside sources from the orphanage."

Derek quickly flashed back to the girl taking pictures in the game room that day. He knew what those pictures would be worth, especially with the story they were reporting to go with it. It didn't matter if the girl was fired, she would make more than twice the amount off that picture and her story than she could working a life time at that orphanage.

"Listen, I need you to call Stephen." Stephen was their lawyer and also happened to be Rick's. "You tell him I want him getting it out to everyone that if they run that story on television again or if it comes out in print, I will own them. Do you get that; tell them I'll own every one of their sorry butts."

"I've got you D. I'm not sure if I should have told you or not. I don't want to take anything away from tonight. You're playing for a gold medal, but I just thought you needed to know what they were saying."

"You did the right thing Rick, I promise. You know Casey comes first, Casey always comes first."

"I know, but still, don't let this affect your game. You went there to win and don't let this stop you."

"I'll try man, I'll try. Now please, just call Stephen and get the ball rolling. I'll call you after the game to see how it's going. And I mean it, thank you, you did the right thing."

Derek hung up and yelled, "Dammit."

How in the world did his life ever become so complicated? All he'd ever wanted was to play the game he loved and to provide for and protect his family. But it was becoming painfully clear to him that the game he loved was quickly becoming the thorn in his side. He was sick of it, physically sick. To hell with hockey, if this is what happened by him playing, then they were through. His love affair with hockey was over.

* * *

**Remember Rick? He's Derek's teammate from the Rangers that was with him at the hospital.**


	22. Chapter 22

* * *

"Fifteen seconds on the clock in the third period and Venturi is heading with the puck down to the Russian goal, he passes to Williams, back to Venturi, six seconds, Venturi rears back and shoots, it skims pass the goalie. Canada wins! Canada wins!"

Before he knew it, he was being dog piled by his fellow teammates, as they celebrated what was thought by many to be impossible. They had defeated the Russian's 3-2 and they were the Olympic champions. Soon a flag was thrust into his hands and he was skating around the arena with it flying proudly. And suddenly it hit him, I'm an Olympic gold medalist and I really don't give a damn.

He knew he had played superbly, even shocking himself at times. And he was also smart enough to know it probably helped that he had a great deal of pent of frustration and anger to take out. But unfortunately that anger was still there and no amount of body checking and slap shots was going to make it go away.

_Maybe two minutes, if that long, after he hung up from Rick, he heard the familiar sound of Casey's ring tone._

_He prayed silently she hadn't seen or heard anything before he flipped his phone open, "Hey baby."_

"_Hey yourself, did I interrupt your visualization?"_

"_Nope," he said trying to sound as upbeat as he could, "your timing's perfect, just like the rest of you. And you are welcome to interrupt my visualization anytime you want."_

"_Wow, those are strong words coming from you at a time like this," she teased._

_He knew he needed to keep the conversation light and airy, so that she wouldn't be worried or suspect anything, but all he wanted to do at the moment was tell her how much he loved her and wanted to be with her. Right now, if he had the choice of playing in the game or getting on a plane with Casey, Jase and Kristen and flying off to some secluded island, the game would be a distant memory. _

"_Well, you know me; I'm a sucker for a certain voice. And right now that voice sounds a hell of a lot better than anything I can visualize."_

"_Are you nervous?"_

"_Not really. I haven't reverted back to throwing up or anything, so I'd say I'm okay."_

"_Well, I won't keep you, but I just wanted to call and tell you that I love you and we'll be there soon. Jase is ready to watch his Daddy win a gold medal. He even has your jersey on, well a miniature replica anyway."_

"_I can't wait to see him, and you," he said running his fingers through his hair. "I love you so much, I don't know if I can ever say it enough, but I do."_

"_We love you too. And no matter what happens, we'll be there when it's over. I don't know how we'll find you, but I'll have my cell phone."_

"_Okay, I'll call or text you, so be watching. And Casey, I'm really glad you called. I don't think I could have made it without hearing your voice."_

_He could almost hear her smile as she said, "Love you, bye."_

"_Bye, baby," he said as he flipped the phone closed._

"Derek Venturi, captain, Team Canada," he heard the announcer say as he stepped forward to receive his medal.

As he bent down and the medal was placed around his neck, he came up looking for Casey and Jase. He had been looking for them ever since the game was over and hadn't spotted them yet. Realizing that the presenter had put his hand out, Derek quickly reached his out to shake the man's hand and then went back to searching for Casey.

Finally he spotted them. Somehow they had made their way down near the penalty box and Casey was waving her hand above her head trying to get his attention. He immediately smiled and waved back. There they were; his whole world, right before him and he could finally breathe easy and enjoy things a little.

Soon a flag was being thrust into his hands again, and they were skating another victory lap around the rink. When he reached the penalty box he stopped and handed the flag to one of his teammates as he motioned for Casey to come down. He skated over to the entrance and Casey handed him Jase as she carefully stepped onto the ice.

He was enveloped into her arms and finally he could relax, he could breathe, knowing that they were together and safe. He could tell that she had no clue what was going on back at home, because there was no way her smile could have been that genuine otherwise. And he was glad, glad that they could share this moment of pure happiness, with nothing weighing on her.

He had his wife, his son and a gold medal. Finally, he could appreciate everything that had just occurred. He had won a gold medal. They had done the near impossible and at that moment he knew that he could walk away happy. He could leave it all behind, knowing that Stanley Cup or not, his career had been successful and he could walk away happy.

He pulled away from her enough so that he could place a soft kiss on her lips before pulling back and smiling.

"Ever slept with a gold medal winner?"

She giggled and was about to reply when a reporter cleared his throat and Derek saw a camera crew heading his way.

"Can I get a few words with you Mr. Venturi?"

"I don't think so. Why don't you go interview coach or one of the other guys? I really don't feel like talking to the media right now."

Casey looked at him shocked. "Derek, you're the captain. You just scored the winning shot in the gold medal game. Of course you're going to talk to them."

Derek looked at Casey and then back at the reporter and saw him grinning. Smug ass reporter, Derek thought to himself. I can't stand them. If they want an interview, they'll get an interview. In fact, they'll get the shock of their life.

He leaned down and whispered in Casey's ear, "Whatever I say, just smile. No matter what, smile and look happy and I'll tell you why later. Can you do that for me?"

Casey looked at him puzzled but shook her head in understanding. Derek handed Jase back to her and turned to the reporter. "Okay, I'll talk to you. But we'll do this my way and when I say it's over, it's over. Understood?"

The reporter looked taken aback but nodded his head in agreement. Soon the camera crew was in place and the interview began.

"Derek, can you tell us what it felt like to score the winning goal in the finals. To have that gold medal hanging around your neck when most thought it was a foregone conclusion that the Russians would take the gold."

Derek looked straight in to the camera. "It's a wonderful feeling. As I've said before, this is something that I dreamed about for years, so to come to this point in my life and actually see it come to pass is very rewarding."

"Now I guess the next thing on your list is to go back to New York and help the Rangers win a Stanley Cup and at the moment, all indications point to you being named MVP."

"Actually," he said moving to put his arm around Casey. "The next thing on my list is to go home with my wife and son and away from the prying eyes of the vultures, oh excuse me, I mean the media."

He could feel Casey tense and he soothingly began to rub his hand across her back. "I came here to help my country win a gold medal. After everything my family has been through, we put our grief and hurt aside to do what we felt was right. Our only crime was trying to put others before ourselves and how were we rewarded? I'll tell you how, with blatant lies and half truths. We've spent our whole adult lives putting others before ourselves and this is how we're repaid."

He was almost visibly shaking now from the built up rage that he had so desperately been trying to hold in. "If you want a big scoop, one that's actually founded in truth, here it is. This was it, this was my last game. I am officially retiring from hockey. Now there's something for everyone to talk about, and it actually happens to have some truth to it. So you can have them air that all over the world. And while they're airing it, make sure that they add the part about them being totally responsible for my early retirement, because, I won't subject my family to any more scrutiny or lies just for a game."

And with that he led Casey and Jase off the ice and walked away from it all.

* * *


	23. Chapter 23

**Flashback!**

* * *

Derek led Casey down a tunnel and away from the gaping jaws. She had remained silent until she knew they were alone and then she let him have it.

"Derek," she exclaimed with a mixture of exasperation and confusion in her voice. "What just happened out there?"

He tried to exude a calm and confidence he knew wasn't there, as he said, "Just what it sounded like, I quit."

Casey's big blue eyes became even larger. "What do you mean you quit? You can't just quit. You have a commitment to your team, hell Derek, to the whole city of New York for that matter. They're depending on you, you can't just walk away. Plus, I believe there's a matter of a signed contract that you don't want to breech."

"Case, I could care less about any of that. I can pay back my signing bonus easily. We're set for the rest of our lives. We can go home to London, and in a few months we'll have Kristen and then the four of us can lead a quiet life away from the public view."

She shook her head and placed her hand on his shoulder pushing roughly. "Are you out of your mind? Our life is in New York. We have responsibilities there. Do you think they're going to leave us alone because you say you're quitting hockey. All you've done is fuel the fire. What in the world has gotten into you?"

She saw his eyes flash, but it wasn't anger that flashed through them, it was hurt. "You! God Case, you're in me. And all I can think about is how to protect you, how to make all this go away."

Casey immediately calmed at his words and shifted Jase into her other arm. Putting one hand up gently to Derek's face she asked, "What do you mean, you want to protect me and make everything go away? I don't understand."

Derek lifted his own hand up and placed it over Casey's. "Right before I talked to you on the phone earlier, I got a call from Rick. The media is having a field day at our expense, but actually, it's more at your expense."

She searched his eyes for answers; though she wasn't sure she really wanted to know. Taking a deep breath she stilled herself and asked anyway. "What are you saying?"

"Case, this isn't the time or place. Let's get you back with Dad and Nora and when we get back to the hotel I'll explain everything, I promise. Okay?"

She started to protest but he knew her too well. Placing his fingers gently over her lips he went on, "Please, for once let me have the last word. I promise you can rant all you want when we get back to the suite, but for now can we drop it."

Casey shook her head in agreement and Derek lowered his fingers. "Good girl," he said smiling. "Now, get on your phone and find our parents. As soon as you're safe with them I'll go change and I'll meet you back at the suite, deal?"

"Deal."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Casey watched as Derek stood in the doorway and watched them pull away. She was totally dumbfounded as to what could have brought on such an abrupt and final decision. Pulling her phone out, she googled Casey Venturi and it soon became very apparent what all the fuss was about.

Slowly, the tears came as she read and watched the mean and spiteful things they were saying. How in the world could they say those things? She loved her son more than she had thought humanly possible. All she wanted to do was protect him from them and she had failed. And suddenly it hit her, she was feeling exactly what Derek had been. If she had heard it once, she swore she had heard him say it a million times. All he wanted was to protect her and keep her safe. She was the most important thing in the world to him and he always put her first.

She had to smile as she thought back to their second wedding, the one they had held quietly in London at their parent's home. Pulling out her iPod she stuck her earphones in and thanked God that Edwin had gotten everything on tape.

_Derek and Casey were dancing closely, her head resting on his shoulder. They had transformed the backyard into a wonderland of lights and flowers. Everything had been perfect and she was thrilled that they had been able to share this day with their family._

_She was brought out of her thoughts by Sam walking up and pulling on Derek's arm. "You ready?"_

_Derek shook his head and Casey looked questioningly at him. Looking down, he gave her a wink and said, "I've got a surprise."_

"_What is it?"_

"_You'll just have to wait and see," he said with a smirk on his face. "Stay right here and wait."_

_Casey did as she was told and looked expectantly toward where they were walking. She saw Derek, Sam and Ralph walk onto the gazebo where the band was playing and Derek whispered something in the lead singer's ear. He nodded and turned to the other band members._

_They moved to leave their instruments and soon the three guys had taken their place and it was like going back in time, though she had to admit D Rock looked a little older and a lot more put together._

_Derek cleared his throat and stepped up to the microphone. "We really haven't had a lot of time to practice. In fact, Casey will probably be thrilled to know that we spent last night rehearsing instead of out on the town doing the bachelor party thing."_

_There were several laughs throughout the crowd and Derek got a huge grin on his face. "Anyway, I know how much Casey loves this song. Case, I know I'm not the best with words and no matter how much I tried I could never find the words to express how I feel. But I hope as you listen to this you'll realize what you mean to me."_

_Slowly the music started and Derek began to sing:_

_Lying here with you_

_Listening to the rain_

_Smiling just to see the smile upon your face_

_These are the moments I thank God that I'm alive_

_These are the moments I'll remember all my life_

_I found all I've waited for_

_And I could not ask for more_

_Casey started moving towards the gazebo until she was standing in front of the crowd, enthralled by Derek's voice._

_Looking in your eyes_

_Seeing all I need_

_Everything you are is everything to me_

_These are the moments_

_I know heaven must exist_

_These are the moments I know all I need is this_

_I have all I've waited for _

_And I could not ask for more_

_She tried to hold her tears in. This was a happy day, but she knew that these were happy tears. And she never thought such a thing would be possible, but she fell even more in love with him as he looked straight at her and sang._

_I could not ask for more than this time together_

_I could not ask for more than this time with you_

_Every prayer has been answered_

_Every dream I have's come true_

_And right here in this moment is right where I'm meant to be_

_Here with you here with me_

_She walked slowly up to the gazebo as Derek continued to sing. She looked at Sam and Ralph and then out at her family and she realized that everything in the world that mattered to her was right there, in that back yard._

_Turning back to Derek, he looked straight into her eyes as he finished the song_

_I could not ask for more than the love you give me_

'_Cause it's all I've waited for_

_And I could not ask for more_

_I could not ask for more_

_He had sat the guitar into its stand and moved to gather her in his arms. There were cheers and whistles but it all faded into the background for them. To them there had only been the other._

_Leaning in he whispered, "I mean it Case. You're it for me. As long as I have you, nothing else matters."_

_She threw her arms around his neck and buried her face deep into his neck and she knew that no song's words had ever held more truth because she couldn't ask for more._

She was brought out of her thoughts when the video stopped. She was surprised to find that tears were flowing down her cheeks once more and she quickly wiped them away hoping that their parents hadn't seen.

She smiled to herself. She understood where he was coming from, really she did. But that still didn't mean she was going to let it happen, that she was going to let him throw away everything he had worked a lifetime for. He had sacrificed so much for them and some how she had to make him see that no matter what, it would be okay. As long as they were together, they could get through anything.

* * *

**The song that Derek sings to Casey is "I Could Not Ask For More" by Edwin McCain. I don't own it or him! **


	24. Chapter 24

* * *

Derek walked into the room to find Casey sitting at the desk, her back to him, enthralled with what she was watching on the lap top. He cringed as he heard the entertainment anchor spewing what he could only call venom. He walked over and slammed the computer closed and Casey jumped at the sudden act.

In that moment, his demeanor changed from one of pure anger to total compassion. He kneeled down so that he was level with her and his heart broke as he saw her tear streaked face. "Hey," he said quietly, taking one of her hands in his as he used his other hand to wipe away her tears.

"Hey," she said back softly, not looking him in the eyes.

"Where's the baby?"

"Mom and George took him to their suite. I think they thought I was in no shape to…" but she couldn't go on. The sobs that she had so desperately been trying to hold in engulfed her at the sight of Derek. And she was ashamed. She was ashamed that she was acting just like the person he thought she was, the person that always needed protecting and always needed someone to stand up for her. She had never been a weak person, but the accident and everything that had come with it had changed her more than she wanted to admit to herself.

She threw her arms around him and nearly threw him off balance as he knelt beside her. Steadying himself, he sat down on the floor and brought her into his lap, holding her as she cried. It never ceased to amaze him how perfectly she fit in his arms. Her tiny frame held tightly to him as she buried her head into his chest.

"It's okay, baby. Let it all out. I'm here and it's going to be okay; we're going to be okay."

She nodded her head but continued to hold tight as if he were her life line. And if she was honest he was. They were each other's life line. They were best friends and soulmates; bound together by love and life experiences that no one else could ever begin to imagine.

"Hey, look at me," Derek said gently as he ran his fingers through her hair.

She pulled back slightly but her gaze didn't meet his eyes.

"Case, look at me," he said as he gently urged her face up with his hand.

Finally, she locked eyes with him and he gave her a smile. "There's my pretty girl. Are we through now, do you have it all out of your system?"

She nodded her head but still didn't speak.

"Good," he said as he brought her back tightly against him. "So, I see you've found out what all the fuss was about."

He felt her nod her head again and he went on. "I have to admit, I'm a little relieved that you found out on your own. I wasn't looking forward to telling you what happened but it breaks my heart to know you sat here by yourself and looked at that crap."

He could feel her little intakes of breath and knew that she was desperately trying to not start crying again. "Casey the people that know us, that love us, they won't think twice about those things. And everyone else can go to hell. We know how we feel and that's all that matters."

She pulled away slightly again and raised her eyes to meet his. "But it does matter Derek. Those people are saying that I don't even love my own child. I would die for that little boy."

"I know you would Case. And the people that matter know you would too."

"Have you seen any of it? Have you read it?"

"I watched some of it on my phone on the way over here, but I have to admit, I didn't get very far. It makes me physically sick to even think about it."

She pulled away even more. "Yeah, well imagine being me."

He could see the anger building and knew that what was to come wouldn't be pretty.

She got up and started pacing. "Of course you come off like Daddy of the Year while I come off like Mommy Dearest. They can't get away with this. Anything else, I could handle, let them talk. We rode out the storm about our past; we were adults and I could deal with it. But this is my son Derek, this is my baby they're talking about and they need to pay."

Derek had sat there watching her, knowing that she needed to vent. Because the venting was much better for her than the crying and she needed to get this out of her system. He got up off the floor and sat on the edge of the bed. When he was sure she was through for the moment he spoke.

"Casey he's my son too and no one wants them to pay more than I do. I can't stand what this is doing to you. You're the absolute most caring and compassionate person in the world and I can assure you that they'll pay. Rick was calling Stephen as soon as we got off the phone tonight and he's sending notice to everyone that I'll own them if they don't stop. I'm hoping to get retractions aired and printed but we'll have to wait and see on that."

Getting up off the bed he moved to stop her still pacing form. Gathering her in his arms he held her tight. "Do you finally see where I've been coming from all these years? Casey, you're just too trusting. Every journalist out there isn't like you. It's all about progressing their careers and the bottom dollar. They don't care about journalistic integrity. The only thing they care about is the next big sensation."

He placed one hand on the side of her face and pulled her closely to him. "I'm just so tired of it Casey. I'm tired of it all. I don't need this anymore; we don't need this anymore. Let's just go home and be us."

Casey pulled away slightly and looked up into his eyes. "We can't Derek. We can't run from them. If we run they'll just come for more. And I have a story to do. I made a commitment to my company and to that orphanage that I would tell a story that mattered, that would bring some good to the world. I'm not backing down and you're not either. We are not letting them destroy our dreams. We've worked too hard for what we have and they're not taking it away from us."

"Case…"

"No, not Case. I know what you're going to say and you might as well save your breath. Tomorrow you're getting on the phone with our agent and you can have him spin this anyway you want him too, but I'm not quitting and neither are you. They are not going to have control over our lives."

"But…"

She started shaking her head at him and he saw a resolve in her that he hadn't seen in a long time. "No buts either. We are still going to tell our story. We're going to tell about the heartbreak and the healing. We're going to talk about what the media has done to us and what it's like to be kicked when you're down at your lowest point. We're going to tell about how a story led us half way around the world to a little girl who we know was meant for us. We're going to tell them about what Jase means to us and about how he kept us going through it all. That little boy was the light in our darkness and I want the world to know it."

Stopping for a moment to catch her breath she bit her bottom lip and Derek could see the tears start to well in her eyes. "And we're going to tell them about Brooke. We'll tell them what she means to us and that no matter what she will never be forgotten. I've thought a lot about what you said Derek. And I want to contact St. Vincent's and tell them that we want to open a place for families to stay while their children are in the hospital."

She looked up to see him smiling brightly down at her. "They were so good to let us stay in a room there at the hospital, but I know we were able to do that because of who we were. I want a place that anyone can stay. When your child is sick you shouldn't have to worry about anything but that. I want a daycare there where the brothers and sisters of the sick children can be cared for. I want so many things and I want all of them to honor Brooke's memory. I know we'll never forget her, but I don't want anyone else to ever forget her either."

Finally she was quiet and looked at him expectantly. "Well," she asked.

He got that smug smirk on his face and shrugged his shoulders. "I wasn't sure if I was allowed to speak. I think I've been told no several times already tonight."

She smiled up at him and shook her head. "You may speak."

"Thank you," he said as he brought her in for a kiss. Pulling away he began, "I think it's a wonderful idea. You know I've wanted to honor Brooke's memory since the beginning. I don't think we'll have any problem getting the hospital to agree and I bet we'll be able to raise the money in no time. But Casey, I'm just tired. I'm tired of it all."

"No you're not."

"What?" he looked at her questioningly.

"No you're not. You're not tired of everything. You're tired of the three ring circus that surrounds us and you're tire of having to protect me…"

"Hey, stop right there. I will never be tired of protecting you; you are my top priority."

"Alright, maybe I went too far with that one, but the point I'm trying to make is, I know you're not tired of hockey. Can you look me straight in the eyes and tell me you're tired of hockey?"

He reached up and ran a hand along the back of his neck. "Case, I'm tired of everything that hockey brings with it."

"But you're not tired of hockey?"

Taking a deep breath he slowly nodded his head. "No, I'm not tired of hockey."

"Then that's it. We're staying in New York and we are taking our lives back. No more hiding, no more worrying. We are going to live our lives just like we would if we were in London. If we want to go out to eat, we go out to eat. If we want to take our children to the park or the zoo, we're going to take them to the park or zoo. We are not going to live in fear of the media anymore. Derek, they can't do anything to hurt me anymore than they have already. But I'm okay now. And do you know why I'm okay?" she asked as she stepped in closer to him.

Pulling her tighter to him, he moved to rest his forehead on hers. "Why?" he asked softly.

"Because, I have you," she whispered in return.

* * *


	25. Chapter 25

**Flashback!**

* * *

"Derek, if you don't stop, you're going to wear a hole in the carpet."

Derek looked up and Casey could tell he didn't realize what he was doing. He gave her an apologetic grin, "Sorry," he muttered.

"Hey, come over hear and sit down by me. All the pacing in the world isn't going to make Anna come in here any quicker. And please, can I remind you one more time…"

"Derek, you must be on your best behavior," he said finishing her sentence for her. "I know Case, you told me a million times."

Casey rolled her eyes and shifted Jase in her arms. "Well, I know how angry you still are about the whole picture ordeal and may I emphasize one more time, now is not the time for 'smart ass' Derek to rear his ugly head. Anna still has total control over Kristen and no matter how bad we want to do otherwise; we are going to play nice. Understood?"

"Yes mam!" he exclaimed teasingly, as he sat down beside her.

Just then they heard the door open and Anna came around and took a seat at her desk. "Mr. and Mrs. Venturi, I'm sure you're coming here looking for answers."

Casey looked over at Derek with a pointed look before returning her gaze to Anna. "Actually, we just came here to check on the progress of our adoption of Kristen and to see if we could see her. We'll be leaving in two days and we want to spend as much time as possible with her. Plus I still need to get my actual interview with you on tape and I'd like to get some footage of the orphanage and of Kristen with us."

"I'm not sure that we can do that. Just because the two of you are famous doesn't mean that I can just bend the rules for you."

Casey glanced over at Derek and she could see the color rising in his face. He was getting angry and he was about to blow. But really after everything they had been through she couldn't blame him.

He glanced over at her for a sign and she silently shook her head in understanding.

That was all he needed and he was off with a vengeance. "Listen here Anna, my family has just gone through a great amount of emotional trauma not to mention possible irrevocable damage to our character because one of your little workers saw dollar signs. We have donated tens of thousands of dollars to you, not because we expected something in return but because we are very sincere about your cause here."

Casey glanced at Anna whose eyes had widened as she looked on at Derek. "But I assure you Mr. Venturi I…"

"I know you fired her, but so what, big deal. She knew that she would lose her job when she did it. What she made here was literally pennies compared to what she was rewarded with from the media. I can promise you that if you try to back out on us, if you try to take Kristen away from us, you will know what it's like to experience the wrath of Derek Venturi. In fact, I believe you might want to try and push this through as fast as possible. The sooner this is over with the better for everyone. Wouldn't you agree Anna," he asked pointedly.

Anna was speechless and Casey was terrified. All she had wanted was for Derek to tell her how hurt and shocked they were by what had transpired at the orphanage. Never in a million years did she expect him to go off on a tirade like that. She remembered the first time they had went through something like this.

_Casey awoke to the feeling of strong arms wrapped around her and soft kisses being placed at the nape of her neck. She rolled over and looked at her husband. Husband…the thought of that gave her chills, but at the same time made her want to shake her head in disbelief._

_Two nights ago they had flown to Las Vegas and been married quietly, just the two of them. Then they had caught a flight home yesterday and had appeared at the fundraiser last night just as Derek had promised his agent he would. It had been nerve-wracking to say the least. Cameras and reporters had been everywhere and all they had wanted to know was who the girl on Derek Venturi's arm was. But that wasn't the most interesting part. No that had come courtesy of the observation of their wedding rings. As soon as they were noticed a firestorm had hit that had forced them to make an early exit. She still shuddered at the thought._

_Derek pulled her tightly to him. "Good morning, baby," he murmured in her hair. _"_Are you hungry?"_

_She pulled back and looked at him; he never ceased to amaze her with things. "Good morning, baby. Are you hungry? Wow, I didn't know the romance died so quickly after marriage."_

_He rolled his eyes and placed a light kiss on her lips. "Well, while you were asleep for the last hour I've been laying here watching you and it took a lot of energy for me to not wake you up. I need some food and then we can come back here and work it off."_

"_Come back here? Can't we just order in?"_

"_No way! The diner down the street has the absolute best chocolate chip pancakes in New York and I'm dyeing for some. What do you say," he asked as he gave her his best puppy dog face._

"_I say, no. Derek after last night I don't want to go anywhere."_

"_Case, it'll be okay. There's no way they've figured it all out yet. They'll still be trying to find out about the mystery girl and we're going to film our interview at the station today. We'll have our story out there before anything really happens. Now come on, find those big sunglasses you love so much. Heck, put one of my caps on but we are going out to eat."_

"_Derek, I'm not the mystery girl. I did an interview with you. I may not be famous but they'll figure out who I am."_

_xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx_

_They had just left their apartment and were walking the short distance to the diner when suddenly a newsstand caught her eye and she stopped dead in her tracks. She was holding on to Derek's arm so he was drug back with her as she stood, mouth opened, eyes wide, totally shocked at the headline before them. _

_There was a picture of them from the night before with a headline that read, 'Sex-cest in the City' and another had the same picture with the heading 'Wedded Sis' which she could only imagine was a play off of the phrase 'wedded bliss'. She held on tightly to him for support as she felt her knees begin to buckle and pulling her close he kissed the top of her head. She buried her face in his chest and asked, "Can we please just go back home, Derek, please?"_

_He said nothing but turned them around and they hurriedly went back up to the apartment. _

_  
She had managed to hold it together until they were inside but then the flood gates opened and the tears wouldn't stop. She hated it. She hated appearing so weak and she knew that Derek couldn't stand to see her cry, but she couldn't help herself. She ran into their room and threw herself on the bed, sobbing uncontrollably._

_She felt the bed dip and hesitant arms move to embrace her and pull her into his lap. He ran his fingers through her hair and rocked her back and forth as she cried. Not saying anything, but just being there for her. He knew her well enough to know that she had to get this out of her system before they could talk but it killed him to see her like this. _

_He would tell her later that it was the first time he realized that he wouldn't always be able to protect her and he had felt like a total failure. He had assured her that everything was going to be alright and it hadn't. _

_Finally, she had cried until there were no more tears but still he held her tightly to him. "Do you want to talk about it?" he asked her gently._

_She shook her head yes but didn't say anything._

"_I'm really sorry Casey. I know you didn't sign up for all this when you married me. I wish I could make it all go away but I can't. Unfortunately, they didn't print anything that I can threaten legal matters with."_

_She pulled away from him and looked him in the eyes. She saw him visibly wince at her when he saw what this was doing to her. "Do you think it will always be like this?" she asked quietly._

"_I don't think so, but I can't promise you that. But I can tell you what we're going to do about it. We're going to go down to the station today just like we planned. We're going to do the interview and we're going to tell everyone the real story."_

_She buried her face in his chest and began to cry again. "I can't Derek, I just can't," she sobbed._

_Derek felt his heart clinch and his stomach drop. "What do you mean you can't? What are you saying Casey?" he asked in a trembling voice. "Are you sorry that we did this?" he asked with panic now evident in his voice. _

_She didn't say anything but just cried harder and Derek felt the tears begin to come to his eyes. Did she think this was a mistake? Did she not want to be with him anymore? He literally didn't know what he would do without her and he felt physically sick while thinking that this was the direction she wanted it to head. _

_Finally, he gathered enough courage to pull her away from him and he made her look him in the eyes. "Answer me Casey. Are you sorry we did this?"_

_She shook her head and threw her arms around him. "Oh no, Derek, I'd never regret marrying you. I love you more than anything."_

_He let out a breath he didn't even realize he was holding and buried his face in her neck. "Thank God, I thought you meant you couldn't do us. Casey I promise, I'll make it better. Whatever it takes, I'll make it better."_

"_Derek, please don't promise things you can't keep. There is no way for you to make this better. Whether we like the way they're spinning it or not, what they're saying is true. And I have a feeling it won't be dyeing down for a long time."_

"_But I won't let them make us into some dirty little secret. Be prepared, because tonight in our interview the gloves are coming off and when I get finished there will definitely be the correct spin brought to light." He wanted to end it there but he couldn't. He had to gain assurance from her one more time. "Case, are you sure, absolutely positive, that you're okay with us. There's no doubt at all in that pretty little head of yours? I don't think I could take it if I knew you were ashamed of us."_

"_Derek I could never be ashamed of you. It's just hard. I never thought I'd have to live my life in such a public way and it's just going to take some getting used too. But I will never, never be ashamed of you."_

_xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx_

_Later that night, true to his word he had told the world how things really were and for some reason most everyone had backed off. Sure the really trashy mags had kept it going for awhile but they had held their heads up high through it all and before long they had become "Dasey", America's darlings._

Evidently persuasive Derek still had a way with words because when she came out of her thoughts she heard Anna say, "Of course Mr. Venturi. If you'll just wait a moment, I'll have someone bring Kristen to you and I'll give you some privacy for some family bonding time."

She left the room and Derek turned to her with a wink and a smiled. "I knew she'd see it my way."

* * *

**One more chapter!**


	26. Chapter 26

**Okay, this is it!**

* * *

Four months later they were sitting in Anna's office officially waiting to take their daughter home. Sitting in silence, both thinking of what had transpired in the last few months.

It had been months of paper work, passports, embassy briefings and pure craziness. Add that to the stress of winning a Stanley Cup and well, it was basically life as usual for them.

Casey's documentary had been a smashing success and they had been thrilled to know that inquiries about Russian adoptions had risen by thirty percent since it aired the first time not to mention that she was up for several very high profile journalistic awards.

No, they couldn't complain at all. Life was very good. Jase had continued to be the light of their life. He was now rolling everywhere and was getting up on his hands and knees and trying to crawl. And soon the missing piece to their puzzle would be placed safely in their arms and life would never be the same again.

They felt a bit guilty about leaving Jase at home in New York with their parents, but they were worried it would all be too much for him and they didn't know what obstacles or road blocks they might encounter along the way.

Derek looked over at Casey who was absent-mindedly twirling a piece of hair around her fingers as she bobbed one leg up and down. He reached over and placed a hand on her leg to still it and grinned, "Nervous much?"

She looked back at him with the same smile and raised an eyebrow. "Says the one who's ran his fingers through his hair about a millions times since we got here. I know your nervous quirks too Venturi."

"Touch'!" he replied.

"What do you think is taking them so long? You don't think something's gone wrong at the last minute and we're not going to get to take her home do you?"

Derek saw the panic rising in her face and smile at her reassuringly. "Relax Case. They told us that everything was in order and that we would be bringing her home. I'm sure it's just last minute stuff. Don't worry, okay?"

"But, what if…"

She didn't get to finish her sentence because Anna walked through the doors with a genuine smile on her face and Casey immediately felt the knots that had formed in her stomach release a little.

"I'm sorry to keep you waiting so long, but we had to get set up. Now please, if you'll follow me to the rec room."

Derek and Casey walked with Anna down the now familiar hall to the room that they had redone for them months ago. When they walked through the door they were awe-struck to see the room decorated with a few pink and white balloons and streamers with a banner hung that read, "Congratulations Venturi Family".

Casey began to cry and Derek had to squeeze his eyes shut tightly for a moment to make sure that nothing escaped his eyes.

Anna turned back to them, "We just wanted to let you know how happy we are for you. I know that you've been through a lot and unfortunately some of that was brought on by things that occurred here, but what you've done for our orphanage and really all of the orphanages in Russia is something that we can never repay. But please know what you mean to us."

Casey nodded her head and hugged Anna but Derek had already started across the room, his eyes having locked with the eyes of a little princess being held by one of the care givers. When he reached them he asked hesitantly, "May I?"

"Of course Mr. Venturi, after all she is your daughter."

Derek grinned and nodded his head. "Yeah, she is," he said as he bent down to take the little girl in his arms. "Hey, Kristen, how's daddy's little girl. Are you ready to go on a big plane and see your bubba again? He's home with Nana and Papa and he's waiting for you. And lots of other people are waiting for you too. You're really going to love it there."

He felt a hand on his back and chin on his shoulder. "You're not spoiling her already are you," Casey asked teasingly.

"What kind of question is that? Of course I'm spoiling her. What else would I be doing? We've got six months of spoiling to catch up on."

"Well try and keep it to a minimum. Remember she'll be a teenager someday and spoiled brats and tantrums aren't nearly as cute at thirteen as they are at three."

Derek didn't respond and Casey couldn't help but ask, "What, no quick witted response?"

He just shook his head no. "Look at her Case, just look at her? She just fits in perfectly doesn't she?"

Casey placed her arms around Derek's waist and he pulled her in tightly with one arm. She felt the tears coming once more and all she could do was whisper, "Perfect."

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As they got off the plane they could see their family, all of them waiting excitedly. They had flown all the siblings and spouses in for a huge celebration at their home. But evidently the party was starting at the airport because they were all standing there with the same goofy grins on their faces.

Casey and Derek, with Kristen in his arms, made a beeline straight for George who had Jase. Casey quickly snatched the baby from his arms and held him tightly to her. "Were you a good boy for Nana and Papa?"

Jase just smiled and giggled as his mother talked to him in her baby voice.

"Hey big guy," Derek said taking him from Casey. "Look who came to see you? It's your sister. What do you think?"

Jase reached over and pulled the bow off Kristen's head and stuck it in his mouth.

Casey let out a groan. "Please tell me the annoying big brother thing isn't already starting. I thought we'd at least have a few years of peace."

Derek let out a laugh. "What did you expect Case? He's a Venturi."

Just then they saw flashes and knew that the paparazzi were there in full force.

Derek saw Casey's eyes get big and panic start to wash over her pretty features.

"Relax Case. Today's our day of celebration and no one is going to ruin it."

Stepping back he pulled her with him and addressed the throng of people. "Everyone, I'd like to introduce you to our daughter, Kristen Hope Venturi. We've waited along time for this moment and we're very proud to let the world see our family together. Now you have exactly three minutes to take as many pictures as you want and then we will be leaving for our home. And by the way, since I'm being nice to you I expect the same in return. Please allow us this day with our family in our home without having to maneuver through you all at the front gate."

He heard them all agree as they happily snapped away.

Casey looked at him questioningly for a moment before turning to the flashes and smiling brightly.

Derek leaned down and quickly whispered in her ear. "They can plaster this all over the world for all I care. And for once I think I might buy the news stand out for a different reason. Hell, I might even wallpaper my study in it."

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**If you've managed to somehow make it through this story, I'd loved to hear from you. What did you like, dislike? **

**I completely value the opinions of my readers and I'd love nothing better than to hear your thoughts on this story!**


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